Utes Down The Cardinal, 40-21

Saturday, October 6

Stanford, CA

8:30 PM

University of Utah

3-2 , 2-1

Stanford

4-2 , 1-2

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Utah

Stanford

Photo by: Steve C. Wilson

10/6/2018 11:51 PM | Football

Box Score Postgame Notes Postgame Quotes

STANFORD, Calif. – The University of Utah football program downed the No. 14 Stanford Cardinal on the road tonight, 40-21, improving to 3-2 overall and 1-2 in Pac-12 play.

The Utes held Stanford to just 42 rushing yards while Utah put up 222 yards on the ground and 421 yards of total offense on the way to its top-25 win.

Tyler Huntley was 17-of-21 passing for 199 yards and a touchdown while Zack Moss was dominant in the run game, rushing for 160 yards and two touchdowns to push him over the 2,000 career rushing yards mark.

Britain Covey and Samson Nacua both racked up 70 yards receiving with Nacua also adding his first touchdown of the season and second of his career.

Chase Hansen led Utah with nine tackles (2.0 TFL, 1.0 sack) with Cody Barton adding eight (1.0 TFL) and a pass breakup. Jaylon Johnson also had a standout game, racking up seven tackles along with a 100-yard pick-six which is the longest interception return in the country heading into the weekend.

On special teams, Matt Gay got into the swing of things as he knocked in four field goals and four PATs for 16 points to help the Utes to its key road victory.

After two failed drives to start the game, the Utah offense started rolling toward the end of the first quarter. With 47 seconds left to play, the Utes made it 7-0 after Moss scored his fifth rushing touchdown of the season on a seven-yard rush, ending a 13-play, 80-yard drive that burned off 6:28 from the clock.

On the first drive of the second quarter, Stanford marched down field to find themselves in scoring territory on the Utah nine-yard-line. The Cardinal looked to the end zone, but Johnson cut off the pass for the interception, returning it 100-yards for the pick-six and a 14-0 lead for the Utes.

Although Stanford immediately got the ball back after the turnover, it didn't take long for Utah to regain possession. Utah came up with its second interception of the game and the second interception by a defensive lineman this season when Hauati Pututau came up big for the Utes.

The Utes' second pick of the game set up their next scoring drive as Huntley and the Utah offense found themselves in a fourth-and-two situation on the Stanford 35-yard-line. The Utes went for it with Moss blasting through for a 35-yard rushing touchdown to give the Utes a 21-0 lead with 2:56 left to play in the second quarter.

Stanford was able to jump on the scoreboard with 24 seconds left in the second quarter, punching in a two-yard rushing touchdown to make it 21-7. It ended an 11-play, 77-yard drive that took 2:26 off the clock.

With under 30 seconds to play in the first half, Utah continued to push, finding themselves in field goal range after Huntley found Brant Kuithe for a 17-yard. Gay was able to hit a 48-yard field goal to give Utah a 24-7 advantage heading into halftime.

It was Gay who opened the scoring in the second half with the Utes scoring three points on the first drive of the third quarter. Gay bested his previous distance with a new season-long 49-yarder with 9:40 on the clock to make it 27-7, putting an end to a 12-play, 44-yard drive.

As Utah's offense started to struggle, the Stanford offense gained momentum, scoring 14 unanswered points in the third quarter to make it a six-point game with 1:44 left to play. It started with a one-yard rushing score with 5:02 left in the third followed by a 26-yard pass from Costello to the end zone to cut the Utah lead to 27-21.

Gay continued to come up big for the Utes against the Cardinal, making it a two-score game with his third field goal of the night. With 12:33 left in the fourth quarter, Gay converted on a 34-yarder to give Utah a 30-21 lead, ending a nine-play, 59-yard drive that burned 4:11 off the clock.

Utah's offense got its stride back with 7:12 remaining in the game when Huntley threw an impressive 57-yard touchdown to Nacua to put the Utes up 37-21. Huntley was nearly sacked and was falling to the ground as he heaved the ball down field, perfectly landing it in Nacua's arms to end the five-play, 74-yard drive.

Hey @utahathletics fans, we know you'll want to see this one again. And again. And again.

Here's Tyler Huntley's touchdown pass to ice the victory for @Utah_Football.

Roll the tape: ?? pic.twitter.com/EHeOlkPQf4
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) October 7, 2018

Gay knocked in his fourth field goal of the game with less than four minutes to go in the fourth after Moss broke free for a 34-yard rush on the first play of the drive. The 37-yard field goal made it 40-21 to end a five-play, 39-yard drive.

While the Utah offense was able to extend the lead in the fourth quarter, the defense was also able to step up, causing two more turnovers. Bradlee Anae and Javelin K. Guidry both came up with key forced fumbles late in the fourth, with Guidry's ending Stanford's final drive, allowing Utah to run out the clock for the win.

The Utes return to action when they host the Arizona Wildcats on Friday, Oct. 12. The game is set for an 8 p.m. MT kick in Rice-Eccles Stadium.