Saturday, September 8
DeKalb, IL
5:30 PM
University of Utah
2-0
17
at
6
Northern Illinois
0-2
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Utah | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 17 |
| Northern Illinois | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
Players Mentioned
LB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
WR
/ Football
K
/ Football
LB
/ Football
QB
/ Football
DB
/ Football
RB
/ Football
P
/ FootballTeam Stats
UTAH
NIU
Total Yards
354
228
Pass Yards
286
111
Rushing Yards
68
117
Penalty Yards
60
43
1st Downs
19
15
3rd Downs
6
7
4th Downs
0
1
TOP
28:28
31:32
1st Quarter
UTAH 0, NIU 3
NIU - GANTZ, Andrew 49 yd field goal 9 plays, 44 yards, TOP 4:00
3rd Quarter
UTAH 7, NIU 3
UTAH - Moss, Zack 1 yd run (Gay, Matt kick), 9 plays, 76 yards, TOP 4:12
4th Quarter
UTAH 7, NIU 6
NIU - GANTZ, Andrew 27 yd field goal 8 plays, 42 yards, TOP 3:01
UTAH 10, NIU 6
UTAH - Gay, Matt 40 yd field goal 6 plays, 54 yards, TOP 2:13
UTAH 17, NIU 6
UTAH - Hansen, Chase 40 yd interception (Gay, Matt kick)
Game Leaders
CMP
20
TD
0
YDS
286
INT
0
Football Goes to 2-0 With Win over Northern Illinois
9/8/2018 9:15 PM | Football
DEKALB, Ill. – It was a windy day in the Midwest as the Utes took on the Northern Illinois Huskies, coming away with a 17-6 victory on the road to improve to 2-0 on the season.
While it was an inconsistent day for the Utes in all three facets of the game, all three areas of the field were able to put points on the board to propel the Utes to a win.
Tyler Huntley finished the game 20-of-31 passing for 286 yards with Britain Covey being Huntley's favorite target of the game.
Covey racked up 129 yards on eight receptions, tying his career-high in receiving yards. Zack Moss added 16 carries for 66 yards and a touchdown, his third touchdown of the season and Utah's only offensive touchdown of the game.
On defense, Utah had a pair of double-digit tacklers in Cody Barton and Chase Hansen. Barton led the Utes with 13 while Hansen had 12 tackles (2.0 sacks) and the game winning pick-six.
Mitch Wishnowsky had five punts for 207 yards, averaging 41.4 per punt and landing one inside the 20 while Matt Gay was able to hit a 40-yard field goal. Gay was also 2-of-2 on PATs for the game.
Another slow start for the Utes on offense plagued the Utah defense as they found themselves behind in the first quarter, unable to stop the run game. The Huskies jumped on the board with 1:23 on the clock after settling for a field goal, scoring a 49-yarder to make it 3-0.
It was a scoreless second quarter as the Utes struggled to get going offensively, only producing 11 first downs in the first half. The Utah defense was able to hold the Huskies to just 26 yards passing in the first half with Jaylon Johnson coming up big with seven tackles at corner.
Things started to click for the Utes in the third quarter as they took a 7-3 lead with 8:31 to play after a 76-yard drive down field. Moss punched in a one-yard rushing score after a 40-yard catch from Jaylen Dixon and a key 14-yard reception from Covey put the Utes on the NIU one-yard-line.
Utah held the four-point lead heading into the fourth quarter after the Utes held Northern Illinois to just 14 yards rushing in the third. Unfortunately, the Utah couldn't get its offense rolling with NIU cutting the lead to 7-6 on a 27-yard field goal with 6:51 remaining in the game.
Special teams came up huge for the Utes with 4:38 left to play in the game when Matt Gay was able to convert on a 40-yard field goal to give Utah a 10-6 lead. It was the end of a six-play, 54-yard drive that took 2:13 off the clock in the fourth quarter.
Northern Illinois lined up on their own 37-yard-line for another chance to take the lead after the Utes had to punt with less than three minutes to go, but it was time for Utah's defense to take center stage. On the first play of the drive, Hansen came away with an interception, returning it for 40 yards and six points to give Utah a secure 17-6 lead.
Hansen's pick-six would be the game winner after the Ute defense was able to force NIU to turnover the ball on downs, allowing Huntley to run out the final seconds of the game for the win.
The Utes return to action when they host top-25 ranked Washington on Saturday, Sept. 15 at 8 p.m. MT. The game will air on ESPN with fans encouraged to wear black for the game.
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