The now No. 14 Utes put it all together in less than three minutes.
That was the story Thursday night when Utah pulled a rabbit out of its hat to score 11 points in the final two minutes and 11 seconds en route to the 31-28 win over Oregon State.
The Beavers were coming off a monumental upset of former No. 1 USC, and many had picked OSU to knock off the Utes at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
The MUSS and others made sure the experts knew their team is 6-0 after an improbable comeback.
“You can’t say enough about this team’s mental and physical toughness,” said quarterback Brian Johnson.
For most of the game Thursday night, the 45,000-plus viewers questioned those virtues of No. 3.
A 10-for-22 throwing performance for 110 yards, one touchdown, one interception and one fumble isn’t exactly what people expected from Johnson, who in the past has shown remarkable form in nationally-televised games.
Nothing went as planned Thursday until Utah’s hopes for the Bowl Championship Series were on the line.
Johnson went 7-for-8 on the final two scoring drives and overcame blunders to lead his Utes to victory.
“There was just a more sense of urgency,” Johnson said in regards to those final minutes. “I knew, obviously, we didn’t play well at all through the first three-quarters of the game, but that’s the thing about football: you always have a chance to make it up. When your number’s called, you gotta be out there to make the plays.”
Johnson moved to second all-time in wins as a starting quarterback. He is 19-7, only second to Alex Smith who was 21-1.
Lost in the mix of the late-game dramatics was one of Utah’s most critical responses all season long.
After Johnson threw a pick to Beaver safety Al Afalava that was returned for a touchdown, the Utes and Rice-Eccles Stadium looked deflated in the second quarter. That is, until David Reed lined up for the ensuing kickoff.
Reed, tackled by the UNLV kicker in the open field in a one-on-one situation back on Sept. 6, was teased by teammates afterward.
He made sure that wouldn’t happen again.
When Reed broke into the open after his blockers made an impressive hole, he broke to the outside and looked as if he would take it to the house. The kicker converged, Reed dodged, cutting back across the field and took the kick 79 yards to set up an eventual field goal. The spark not only ignited the Utes, but also the somewhat deflated crowd.
The defense, which spent an absurd amount of time on the field against a versatile OSU offense looked on its heels much of the night.
The Utes did cut back tremendously on penalties. They also managed to corral Jacquizz Rodgers for three and a half quarters, but allowed him to break loose on a long draw play and a 43-yard screen pass that led to OSU’s final touchdown of the game.
It’s an impressive feat nonetheless, something USC could not do.
“The biggest thing was just winning the fourth quarter,” said defensive end Paul Kruger. “We came out and did it. Guys showed up and made big plays and showed a lot of character.”
Greg HarlowDarrell Mack rushed for 44 yards during last Thursday?s game. The Utes made a spectacular come back in the last two minutes 11 seconds of the fourth quarter to win the game.