Time is on Utah Utes’ side on day when Oregon Ducks fall short

TUCSON, Ariz. — Time proved to be a very valuable commodity in Utah’s 35-7 win at Arizona on Saturday night. The seventh-ranked Utes used plenty of it in overpowering the Wildcats.

The timing, if you will, worked out especially well on a day when sixth-ranked Oregon dropped a 31-28 decision up the road at Arizona State — leaving Utah (10-1, 7-1) as the Pac-12’s only possible hope for a berth in the College Football Playoff. 

In the meantime, the Utes can claim a second consecutive Pac-12 South title and trip to the conference championship game with a victory at home over Colorado on Saturday.

Utah coach Kyle Whittingham praised his team’s execution on offense and noted that the defense limited Arizona to 19 snaps in the first half and 52 by game’s end.

“It starts with not turning the ball over and possessing and controlling the ball on offense,” he said. “The time of possession is not just an offensive stat. The defense contributes to that as well and it all starts with the run defense. When you play tough run defense and turn a team one dimensional, everything becomes much easier.”

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Clock management has proven pivotal as Utah’s run for the roses, or perhaps even more, continues. The Utes, who have won seven consecutive games, entered their final road contest of the season as the Pac-12 leaders in time of possession. Their average of 34:36 ranked third best in the nation.

Tick-tock, tick-tock.

“We were just controlling the game.” — Utah quarterback Tyler Huntley

Utah owned the clock again in handing Arizona (4-7, 2-6) its sixth straight loss. The Utes possessed the ball for just over 39 1/2 minutes while racking up 517 yards of offense and 28 first downs. They converted on third down six times. The Wildcats finished with just 61 yards on the ground.   

“We were just controlling the game,” said Utah quarterback Tyler Huntley.

The Utes, opened the game with two touchdown drives, both of which took more than five minutes to complete. The first covered 75 yards on 11 plays, ending with a 3-yard run by Brant Kuithe. The second consisted of 72 yards and 10 plays, culminating with a 3-yard scoring strike from Huntley to Demari Simpkins.

Although Utah’s other two drives in the first half ended with a loss on downs, they combined for 23 plays and took 11:05 off the clock — upping the latter to a 22:16 to 7:44 time-of-possession advantage over the first two quarters. 

Leading 14-0, the Utes also held commanding leads in total offense (291-56), plays (44-19) and first downs (16-3). Huntley completed 13 of 15 passes for 137 yards in the opening half. Running back Zack Moss ran the ball 21 times and netted 136 yards during the decisive stretch. He finished with 203 yards rushing.

After getting stopped at the goal line as time expired in the second quarter, Utah’s offense atoned for it quickly when play resumed. A 41-yard touchdown run by Moss capped a six-play drive as the Utes extended their lead to 21-0 with 12:50 to go in the third. It grew to 28-0 midway through the quarter when a 6-yard run by Kuithe finished another six-play drive. 

“Come out and dominate. We felt like they were hanging around a little bit too much,” Moss said. “The score was only 14-0 but we were doing a lot of good things on offense. We just wanted to come out and put some points on the board. So that’s what we did.”  

Utah’s next possession, though, ended with a rare interception by Huntley (just his second of the season) in the end zone. However, the Utes bounced back with another quick strike. Following a 39-yard punt return by Simpkins, it took them four plays and just under two minutes to cash in. A 1-yard touchdown run by T.J. Green finished things off.

The Utes didn’t punt until late in the game. Arizona scored its lone points against the twos, on a 7-yard TD run by Grant Gunnell with 1:50 to go. The Wildcats finished with only 196 yards of offense and converted only 2 of 12 third downs.

“That’s a good football team we played. We couldn’t get anything going offensively,” said Arizona coach Kevin Sumlin. “In the first half we held them to 14 points and had a couple of fourth-down stops we needed to get. It all works hand in hand with an experienced team, quarterback, and the amazing running back they have.”