Chris Samuels, Deseret News 
Chris Samuels, Deseret News 
SALT LAKE CITY — The No. 13 Utes answered after losing their first game of the season last week, beating Oregon State 27-12 Saturday night.
It wasn't the prettiest victory, but a win nonetheless for the Utes, and Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said it was their only objective this week.
Utah (7-1, 4-1) will now look to continue that winning at Washington this week.
Scoring recap: Utah opened the game with 12 straight carries, ending with Devontae Booker pounding in a 1-yard touchdown run to give Utah a 7-0 lead. The Utes extended that lead to 14-0 with a 39-yard touchdown pass from Travis Wilson to Harrison Handley with 3:47 left in the opening quarter.
Oregon State answered in the second quarter with Garrett Owens connecting on a 23-yard field goal and another from 31 yards out just before the half.
After relatively nothing happened in the third quarter (105 total offensive yards in 15 minutes combined), Utah began to pull away. Andy Phillips hit a 49-yard field goal with 14:20 left in the game to extend the Utes' lead to 17-6. Five minutes later, Wilson punched in a 2-yard carry for another score. Down but not completely out, Oregon State quarterback Nick Mitchell hit Jordan Villamin on a 74-yard pass that led to a 2-yard touchdown pass from Mitchell to Victor Bolden a few plays later. OSU failed on its ensuing two-point conversion but cut the Utes' lead to 24-12 with 8:07 left to play.
Phillips hit a 45-yard field goal with 3:29 left in the regulation, capping the scoring in the game.
Utah's three stars:
Devontae Booker, RB
After abandoning the run game last week in the attempt to get back in the USC game through the air, Utah opened the game with 14 straight rush attempts, including a 12-play, 75-yard opening drive with nothing but rushes. When Utah ran, it opened up everything. Booker ended up with 146 yards on 28 touches (5.2 yards per touch) and a touchdown. He gained 5.2 yards per play in which he either ran or caught the ball, while Oregon State averaged just 4.8 yards per play as a team.
Utah's ground game never really blew away on the stat sheet, but Utah gained most of its yards in the first and fourth quarters and ran the ball the most in those quarters too — led by Booker.
Travis Wilson, QB
While the Utes rebounded with a win, Wilson rebounded too. The senior completed 14-of-17 attempts for 198 yards and a touchdown, and he carried the ball for 56 yards and another score. He completed 82.4 percent of his passes was his highest this season and fifth-highest in school history. He also finished with a 72.5 adjusted QBR rating — his highest since the Oregon game and much better than his 28 QBR score from last week.
Reggie Porter, CB
Porter seemed to have been around many plays for the Utes. The cornerback broke up four passes, which tied a school record. It hadn't been done since 2007. Utah prepared for the possibly of seeing two quarterbacks but learned very late Friday that Oregon State would only use Mitchell. Utah excelled fairly well even with the quick adjustment, allowing just 204 yards through the air.
Analyzing the stats
— Utah opened and closed strong. Roughly 75 percent of Utah's offensive yardage and all of its points came in the first and fourth quarters. Utah compiled just 92 total yards of offense in second and third quarters (and 51 of those yards happened in the final four minutes of the third quarter). Even so, Utah only allowed 149 yards and six points over those middle quarters, which allowed them to escape the slump with minimal harm.
— Utah allowed 74 rushing yards in the second quarter, but just 34 total yards in the first, third and fourth quarters. The Beavers ran for 12 yards in the first quarter and 11 yards in both the third and fourth quarters.
— Going back to Wilson's completion percentage: He has completed 60 percent or more of his passes in all seven games he's played this season. Saturday was his fourth QBR rating of 70 or better.
— Utah failed to force a turnover for the second straight game, but neither team forced a turnover. Each team collected one sack.
— The Utes broke up seven passes, while Oregon State broke up one. Utah came into the game averaging four breakups per game.
A quick look at what's to come: Utah heads back to the road this week with a trip to Washington (4-4, 2-3), which is actually the last team Utah has not beaten since joining the Pac-12. The Huskies will come into the game riding high after trashing Arizona 49-3 Saturday.
Freshman quarterback Jake Browning led the charge with four touchdown passes and a touchdown run, while throwing for 263 yards and completing 16-of-24 attempts. Browning entered the game with six touchdowns and five interceptions, including three games without throwing a touchdown pass, and his 263 yards passing was his first 200-yard passing game since 368 yards in a win over Utah State Sept. 19. Prior to his breakout Saturday, he had the second-worst passer rating among Pac-12 starting quarterbacks.
Washington entered the week with the fewest yards offensively in the Pac-12, with Utah No. 10 in the conference. Freshman Myles Gaskin leads the ground attack with 655 yards and six touchdowns. Dwayne Washington has four more touchdowns for the Huskies this season, including one in the win over Arizona.
However, Washington has the top scoring defense and second-best total defense in the Pac-12. The Huskies have allowed just 16.9 points per game through its first eight contests, with 31 points against Stanford the most allowed this season. Washington has allowed opponents to just 360 yards of offense per game, including holding Arizona — which entered the week as the Pac-12 leader in points and yards per game — to just 330 yards and three points. The Huskies' Achilles' heel heading into the Arizona game was a negative turnover ratio, but they won that battle 4-0 Saturday.