Utah football had a comeback for the ages on Saturday afternoon, rallying from a 28-7 halftime deficit before scoring 38 consecutive points to finish the season with a 45-28 win. Here are the grades from Utah’s win against Washington State in the season finale.
Offense
Through one half, it looked like the Utah offense from the second half of the Oregon State game had shown up. The Utes scored one touchdown in the first half, when Jake Bentley hit a wide-open Britain Covey for a 91-yard touchdown pass. Other than that pass, Bentley was 11-for-22 with an interception and 84 passing yards. Bentley and his receivers didn’t seem to be on the same page, and at halftime, Utah benched Bentley. The Utes had 75 rushing yards and turned the ball over three times in the first half.
“By the looks of the first half, you would have thought we had opted out of that half of today’s game as well as the bowl game,” Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said.
Utah went into the locker room down 21, with no momentum, and it looked as if the Utes were going to end the season with a loss.
The second half turnaround was simply incredible.
Utah scored on five of its seven drives in the second half, scoring touchdowns on four of them. Senior quarterback Drew Lisk came in and did exactly what he needed to do. He went 15-for-26 for 152 yards and had a few nice throws. Most importantly, he had no turnovers. It was a cool moment for Lisk, who was a walk-on quarterback who earned a scholarship in 2018.
“Drew Lisk is one of my favorite players on this team. He is selfless and has a great attitude. He’s all about the team. We were elated when he decided to come back in the offseason because we knew he was considering leaving and going somewhere else,” Whittingham said. “Drew Lisk is just a pleasure to have on your team. He helps everyone around him and he’s like a coach on the field. The legend of Drew Lisk was born in the second half today and he’ll have a story to tell the rest of his life.”
The offensive line tightened things up in the second half, providing time for Lisk to throw and opening up holes for the running backs. Utah didn’t allow a sack in the second half. Covey and Brant Kuithe got the majority of catches. Covey had six receptions for 134 yards and a touchdown and Kuithe had six receptions for 61 yards. Bryan Thompson contributed 32 yards on two catches.
Besides a fumble, Ty Jordan was once again the hero for Utah’s offense. Jordan had 154 yards on 22 carries, finding the end zone three times. His vision and playmaking ability are already stellar, and he’s only a freshman. Kuithe had three rushes for 33 yards and Micah Bernard had three for 15 yards.
If not for the first half, Utah would have earned an “A” here.
Grade: B+
Defense
Just like the offense, it really was a tale of two halves for the defense. In the first half, Washington State racked up 28 points. Utah’s famed pass rush was nowhere to be seen, and the Utes’ defense got bullied on an 88-yard drive that put the Cougars up 14-0 in the second quarter.
Utah’s defense came alive in the second half and was absolutely dominant. The Utes forced four consecutive punts to start the second half, then forced four consecutive turnovers. Utah’s defensive play gave life to the offense and was absolutely the difference-maker in the game.
“The third quarter was huge. We needed to stop the run, limit the pass game and keep them out of the end zone to give us a chance. And that’s what we did,” linebacker Devin Lloyd said. “Our energy was the biggest thing. On the sidelines, it makes such a huge difference, especially without any fans here. The defense was pulling for the offense to finish drives. The offense was rooting for us to get off the field. The energy we brought in the second half was huge.”
Lloyd was everywhere for the Utes, finishing with 10 tackles — four for loss — and a sack. Safety Nate Ritchie was also impressive, finishing with five tackles. Vonte Davis had five tackles, a sack and a forced fumble, Mika Tafua had a sack and a forced fumble and Blake Kuithe had a forced fumble. Clark Phillips III had an interception for a touchdown. These turnovers were absolutely huge and Utah did much better at getting to the quarterback in the second half.
Utah’s defense played a perfect second half, and would have earned an “A” had it not been for the first-half mistakes.
Grade: A-
Special Teams
Utah’s special teams was pretty much perfect. Jadon Redding made a 44-yard field goal and was perfect on extra points and punter Jared March — who punted just once against Colorado — was great. He averaged 42.4 yards per punt and had a long punt of 50 yards. Covey didn’t have any spectacular returns, but was solid.
Grade: A-
Overall
Utah played its best game of the season by far on Saturday, and if not for the first-half struggles, would have nearly been perfect. Even when you include the first half, Utah still gets high marks for the 38 consecutive points scored in the second half. Lisk and Jordan were impressive, as were Lloyd, Phillips, Ritchie, Davis and Tafua.
Every impact player can come back next year, and a lot of the players making big plays on Saturday were underclassmen. Utah is set up well for the future. The biggest question mark for the Utes next season will be at quarterback. Utah made moves to address that on Sunday, adding Baylor transfer Charlie Brewer and Texas transfer Ja’Quinden Jackson to the quarterback room. They will join Cameron Rising, four-star signee Peter Costelli and three-star walk-on quarterback Cooper Justice.
Grade: A-