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SALT LAKE CITY – Jaylon Johnson returned an interception 100 yards for a touchdown and running back Zack Moss rushed for two touchdowns in the Utah Utes pulled away from the # 14 Stanford Cardinal in a 40-21 win Saturday.
Utah entered the game knowing it could be better in all the facets of the game after dropping early Pac-12 games against Washington and Washington State. They have worked hard to win in the past, they have been so swaggered they have faced a top Pac-12 opponent.
The result was a well-balanced effort in all the facets of the game and never has a doubt on the sideline that Utah was going to escape Stanford without a victory. In fact, it's another notch in the road belt as far as Stanford with a loss.
The following are three takeaways from Utah's win over the Cardinal.
All season, Utah has been waiting to showcase the type of offense that was on display during fall camp, where the receivers have been dropped and the offense has been broken down. That offense showed up against Washington State, but a second-half collapse of the game in a game they should have won.
But against the Cardinal, Utah was the aggressor, played to various styles of play and kept. Quarterback Tyler Huntley finished the night on 17-of-21 passing (81 percent) for 199 yards and one touchdown – including a definitive 57-yard passing touchdown to Samson Nacua off one foot and a defender attempting to tackle him to silence Stanford's attempt at a comeback.
Most importantly, it was a balanced mix of plays and passing plays to the Stanford defense. Zack Moss finished with two touchdowns and 160 rushing yards despite an injury that kept him from playing every one of the game. As a replacement, Armand Shyne emerged as a solid backup, providing 38 rushing yards on 10 carries.
Receivers, too, came up big for the offense with the team totaling 199 passing yards on the night with only one drop, an under-thrown pass from Huntley to Zack Moss. Sophomore Britain Covey, again, led the team in receptions with six for 70 yards.
Although only one game, it's a good sign of progress for an offense that is needed to shake some negative vibes.
The offense managed 33 of the team's 40 points scored Saturday, but it was the clock management by the offense that was a major contributor to Utah's success. Utah total time of possession was not much more than that of Stanford's – a little more than 2 minutes – but their milked tones of time off the clock.
The following are Utah's scoring drives and the time used:
- 13 plays, 80 yards, 6:28 – touchdown
- Nine plays, 72 yards, 5:19 – touchdown
- Four plays, 45 yards, 0:24 – field goal (we'll get back to this in a minute)
- 12 plays, 44 yards, 5:20 – field goal
- Nine plays, 59 yards, 4:11 – field goal
- Five plays, 74 yards, 2:39 – touchdown
- Five plays, 39 yards, 1:58 – field goal
Several of their drives took you off the beaten track and staved off Stanford's quick-fire offense. Two of the cardinal scores took just over 2 minutes of time to develop.
Also, the long drives have been made to help the game, which has not been taken into consideration.
Washington State last week, Utah Stanford's run game. The Utes only allowed 42 rushing yards on a night when star running back Bryce Love was held out for a prior injury to his ankle.
Against the Cardinal, Utah dialed up the pressure and made Stanford quarterback K.J. Costello uncomfortable. The cardinal signal caller still found successes on the night, passing for 381 yards, but was limited in his ability to get meaningful yards and scores.
Utah forced two fumbles, each of which was recovered by the Utes, sacked Costello once and managed eight tackles for the night. Additionally, the United States scouted well and knew that Stanford liked the jump in the red zone, allowing for Johnson to pick off Costello's pass for a 100-yard touchdown the other way.
The defense was not perfect in the win, but it was good enough to keep the cardinal from making a late-game run, even when it looked like the Utes may have been trouble early in the fourth quarter.
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