Fourteen penalties wasn’t ideal. Losing Armand Shyne in the fourth quarter wasn’t ideal. But the Utes beat the Wildcats 36-23, getting the win and breaking a four-game losing streak to Arizona, that was ideal.
Head coach Kyle Whittingham is proud that his team was able to get back on track following the 28-23 loss to Cal, but he does need his team to stop getting in its own way.
“We’re a pretty decent football team, and if we stop some of the self inflicted stuff, I think we can be pretty good,” Whittingham said.
Troy Williams was 13-of-28 for 245 passing yards and one touchdown, and he also had 73 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. Before getting injured Shyne had 101 rushing yards, the first Ute to break 100 rushing yards this season. Evan Moeai had 81 receiving yards on three receptions.
“Coming home from last week was a sick feeling,” said Utah defensive back Chase Hansen. “One loss can really mess with you, so we wanted to stay ahead.”
Heading into the game, one of the main focal points of the defense was to not allow any big plays. However, Arizona quarterback Brandon Dawkins hit Shun Brown for a 75-yard touchdown on the Wildcats’ first play of the game.
After a couple of traded possessions the Utes started to get into a rhythm. They made their way onto Arizona’s side of the field, but they were whistled for back-to-back false starts. This did nothing to halt the Utah offense, though. Troy Williams hit Moeai for 18 yards and Harrison Handley for 23 yards.
Backup quarterback Tyler Huntley came in for a couple of plays with the Utes at the two yard line, but he fumbled a snap, and the Utes were sent back eight yards. The Utes settled for a field goal to make the score 7-3.
In the second quarter Dawkins completed a 42 yard pass to Trey Griffey to bring the Wildcats to the 36 yard line, but Dawkins threw an interception immediately after which Brian Allen picked off at the nine yard line. Utah eventually had to punt the ball back.
Dawkins found Cedric Peterson for a 31 yard gain, and the Wildcats kept inching their way to the endzone. It didn’t help that Utah was flagged for being offsides at the seven yard line, and Dawkins ran in for a six yard rushing touchdown, bringing the score to 14-3.
The Utes had another false start, their fifth of the game at the time, when they got the ball. However, Troy Williams connected with Moeai for 59 yards. The Utes then were whistled for three additional false starts and an illegal block, so after having a 1st-and-10 from the 13 yard line, the Utes faced a 3rd-and-40. Mitch Wishnowsky’s punt landed on the two yard, and Utah sacked Dawkins in the end zone for the safety.
“[The game] became such a big mess, [and] the crowd [was] booing,” Hansen said. “That was a big play that jump-started the entire team.”
Utah got into the red zone, and Troy Williams found Tyrone Smith for a two yard touchdown to make the score 14-12.
The Utes had the ball to open the second half, and Troy Williams found Cory Butler-Byrd for 69 yards. Troy Williams then ran for his second touchdown of the game as the Utes took their first lead at 19-14.
Later in the third Arizona was driving, but Dawkins threw his second interception, and Marcus Williams came away with the ball. The Utes made the Wildcats pay for this one as they drove 74 yards down the field, and Shyne capped of the drive with a 26-yard rushing touchdown. The Utes went up 26-14.
Dawkins was subbed out for Khalil Tate, but after Tate was under pressure he tried to throw the ball away, and instead he threw it into Dominique Hatfield’s hands who came up with the interception. Utah put up three points following that Arizona turnover.
Utah would go on to score another touchdown to go up 36-17, and on the way to do so Shyne suffered an injury, and he was helped off the field — Shyne left the game on crutches.
“Armand doesn’t look good,” Whittingham said. “It may be season ending, we’ll know in the next 24-48 hours.”
Arizona added one more touchdown to the score, and it failed to get the two point conversion.
The Utes are now 5-1, and they will be on the road for the next pair of games against Oregon State on Oct. 16 and UCLA on Oct. 23.
@kbrenneisen