Highlights, key plays and photos from Utah’s 52-7 win over Stanford

It was Utah’s night against Stanford.

The Utes dominated the Cardinal, winning 52-7 to improve to 6-3 overall and 5-1 in Pac-12 play.

Utah outgained Stanford 581-167 in one of the best performances for the Utes all season.

Tavion Thomas was the hero offensively for the Utes, scoring four touchdowns and rushing for 177 yards. Cam Rising was 13-for-22 for 140 yards, but Utah did most of its damage on the ground, rushing for 441 yards.

Stanford was missing starting quarterback Tanner McKee due to an injury. McKee quarterbacked Stanford to the third-best passing offense in the Pac-12. Jack West was Stanford’s main quarterback and was held to 59 passing yards. The Cardinal were stuffed on the ground as the Utes held Stanford to only 82 rushing yards.

End of game

Utah 52, Stanford 7

Micah Bernard scored a rushing touchdown to push Utah over 50 points. Thomas, Bernard and TJ Pledger each had over 100 yards of rushing and each scored a touchdown.

Miki Suguturaga strip-sacked Jack West to force the fumble, Utah’s second turnover of the night, putting a stamp on the Utes’ fantastic defense performance.

Devin Lloyd’s pick-six put an exclamation point on the night for the Utes. With Stanford at its own four-yard line, Lloyd intercepted Jack West’s pass from point-blank range and dived into the end zone as the Utes went up 45-7.

End of 3rd Quarter

Utah 38, Stanford 7

Stanford got its first points of the evening on a nine-play, 56-yard drive. The Cardinal’s drive was extended after Utah committed pass interference on third down. Isiah Sanders set up the touchdown by throwing a 27-yard pass to Benjamin Yurosek.

Meanwhile, Stanford forced Utah to punt for the first time as the Utes’ offense slowed down a little bit in the third quarter.

Halftime

Utah 38, Stanford 0

The rout is on.

Utah has 440 yards of offense at halftime.

TJ Pledger ran 96 yards for a touchdown, faking out one defender and stiff-arming another to put the Utes up 35-0. It was the longest run from scrimmage in school history.

Tavion Thomas scored two more touchdowns in the second quarter to move his tally to four touchdowns on the night. His 58-yard touchdown run to put Utah up 21-0 was masterful as he evaded two Stanford players in the backfield before running to paydirt. Later, Thomas scored an 11-yard touchdown to move him to 14 touchdowns on the season, just one from tying the school record for rushing touchdowns in a season.

Jadon Redding was brought in to kick a 29-yard field goal at the end of the half, which he made.

Utah scored 24 points in the second quarter.

Utah’s defense has held Stanford to just 28 total yards of offense, including only five rushing yards on 15 rushing attempts.

The Utes have three sacks and nine tackles for loss at the break. Devin Lloyd leads the Utes in tackles with seven, including three tackles for loss.

End of 1st Quarter

Utah 14, Stanford 0

After one quarter, Utah looks to be in complete control of this game.

Stanford’s run defense is porous, giving up 118 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns in the first period of play. The Utah offensive line is creating huge holes for the Utes’ running backs. Micah Bernard got the first carries to start the game and has 43 yards, while Tavion Thomas has 64 yards and has scored two touchdowns.

Utah did have a turnover on the Stanford 24-yard line as Cam Rising had trouble with the snap and couldn’t recover the ball.

Meanwhile, Stanford’s offense is struggling. With starting quarterback Tanner McKee out due to an injury, the Cardinal have -13 yards of total offense. Utah is in the backfield when Stanford tries to run and has already have two sacks.

Pregame prep

Here are a few stories to get you ready for the game.