The positive is that it does very little to derail our hopes of getting to the championship game. It’s a three-game season and we will take them one at a time. – Kyle Whittingham
SALT LAKE CITY — Until giving up one late in Saturday’s game against fourth-ranked Washington at Rice-Eccles Stadium, the 16th-ranked Utah Utes had gone more than seven years without allowing a touchdown on a punt return.
The streak ended in dramatic fashion as Dante Pettis of the Huskies ran 58 yards for the game-winning score in a 31-24 victory over the Utes. The touchdown came with 3:25 remaining in a hard-fought battle between Pac-12 frontrunners.
“Tough game. I was proud of our guys they hung in there,” said Utah coach Kyle Whittingham. “That’s a good football team we played today.”
Washington (8-0, 5-0) wound up in a near statistical draw with Utah (7-2, 4-2). The Huskies had 385 yards of total offense and 22 first downs. The Utes wound up with 376 and 25.
Quarterback Troy Williams, who began his collegiate career at Washington before ending up at Utah, said the Utes came up just one play short.
“I feel like that’s all it really came down to,” he explained.
And it hurt.
“That’s a heartbreaker,” cornerback Dominique Hatfield said as the Utes walked off the field.
The Utes ran nine plays following the return by Pettis but failed to convert on fourth-and-15 from the Washington 35. An incomplete pass that sailed through the back of the end zone with 43 seconds remaining sealed the outcome.
The Huskies ran out the remaining time to up their all-time record against the Utes to 9-1.
“It’s easy to focus on that one play, but there were a lot of plays that we probably should have made throughout the course of game, stops we should have gotten,” said safety Chase Hansen. “(Washington) is a really good team. We’ve got some more games to play. So it’s not the end.”
Although the loss dropped the Utes into a second-place tie with USC in the Pac-12 South (one-half game back of idle Colorado), they’re still in control of their own situation when it comes to reaching the conference championship game. Season-ending wins over Arizona State, Oregon and Colorado is the surest route, even though other combinations are possible.
“The positive is that it does very little to derail our hopes of getting to the championship game. It’s a three-game season and we will take them one at a time,” Whittingham said. “If we take care of business we will probably play these guys again. That’s our objective. The goal is still there to try and make it to the championship out of the Pac-12 South.”
The Utes battled the Huskies toe-to-toe in a contest that drew the second-largest crowd in Utah history (47,801), a national television audience on FS1 and ESPN’s “College GameDay” show to campus earlier in the day.
“I thought it was a really good game by two good teams,” said Washington coach Chris Petersen.
The Huskies jumped out to a 14-0 lead with consecutive touchdown drives over the first and second quarters. Running back Myles Gaskin capped the initial march with a 10-yard run. Quarterback Jake Browning connected with John Ross for an 18-yard scoring strike on their next possession.
Utah climbed back into contention after Hansen returned an interception 30 yards to the Washington 19 midway through the second quarter. It was just the third pick Browning has thrown all season.
The Utes needed seven plays and more than three minutes to cover the remaining distance. A 2-yard touchdown run by Joe Williams and a PAT by Andy Phillips cut the deficit to 14-7.
Utah pulled closer on the final play of the half when Phillips made a 29-yard field goal.
Trailing 14-10, the Utes took their first lead with 8:17 left to play in the third quarter. That’s when Troy Williams teamed with Siaosi Wilson on an 8-yard touchdown pass.
Washington responded with 10 straight points to regain a 24-17 advantage early in the fourth. A 5-yard TD throw from Browning to Ross and a 41-yard field goal by Cameron Van Winkle put the points on the board.
Utah knotted things up, however, with a seven-play drive that ended with a 24-yard pass play from Williams to tight end Evan Moeai and another extra point by Phillips.
The lone score over the final 9:07 was the decisive return by Pettis. It was the first punt return for a touchdown that the Utes had surrendered since Oregon did so on Sept. 19, 2009.
https://twitter.com/JimMWeber/status/792520323648385024
Email: dirk@deseretnews.com
Twitter: @DirkFacer