Postgame Notes (at) No. 5 Washington 35, No. 18 Utah 28 Seattle, Wash. (Husky Stadium) Saturday, November 11, 2023 Kick: 12:36 p.m. PT | End: 4:06 p.m. Attendance: 70,796 (sellout)
 General
Today's game marked Utah's first loss of the season when leading at halftime. Prior to the Washington game, the Utes had been 5-0 this season when ahead at the break.
Four straight Utah-Washington games and seven of the last eight have been decided by seven points or less, dating back to 2016.
Greg Mroz of the Pac-12 Research Department reported that Utah's Sione Vaki is the first Pac-12 player since Washington's Shaq Thompson on Sept. 6, 2014 to have both an offensive touchdown and a sack in the same game. Eric Weddle was the last Utah player to accomplish the feat, earning 0.5 sack on Dec. 23, 2006.
Washington won the coin toss and deferred to the second half. Utah defended the East goal to begin the game.
 Offense
Utah passed for a season-high 267 yards on the day, the most for the team since the 2022 Pac-12 Championship vs. USC (310). It marked a career-high for starting quarterback Bryson Barnes (267), who was 17-of-30 for two touchdowns with two interceptions.
Barnes had five completions for 15-plus yards, including a 53-yard touchdown to Sione Vaki and a 68-yard completion to wide receiver Devaughn Vele.
Vele finished with a career-high and game-high 145 receiving yards on five receptions, averaging 29 yards per catch. It was his second career 100-yard game, the other coming vs. Penn State in the Rose Bowl with 100 yards.
Vaki's 53-yard touchdown reception tied a career-long for the two-way player.
Barnes was a perfect 4-for-4 passing on Utah's first touchdown drive, tallying 70 yards through the air. The six-play, 75-yard drive was capped off by running back Ja'Quinden Jackson's third rushing touchdown of the season and second in as many games.
Jackson finished the day with two rushing touchdowns; it is his first multi-touchdown game since the 2022 Pac-12 Championship vs. USC (2).
Converted tight end Miki Suguturaga caught his first career touchdown pass during the second quarter. It was a six-yard strike from Barnes and finished a 12-play, 75-yard scoring drive for Utah.
Tight end Landen King had a pair of receptions totaling 20 yards. It marks King's second straight game with multiple catches, after contributing four receptions last week vs. Arizona State.
Wide receiver Money Parks took an end-around for 15 yards early in the second quarter; it was a career-long rush for Parks.
Utah's offensive stats at halftime included 306 total yards (238 passing), 13 first downs and 18.3 yards per completion.
After going 0-for-2 on third-down conversions during the first quarter, the Utes were 4-for-4 in the second quarter.
Vaki's 53-yard touchdown was Utah's sixth offensive touchdown for 50-plus yards this season. It's the most for Utah in a season since 2019 (7).
Offensive lineman Michael Mokofisi had his first career fumble recovery during the third quarter.
 Defense
Linebacker Levani Damuni tied a career-high with 12 tackles on the day, his sixth career 12-tackle performance and his most as a Ute. It includes five 12-tackle games for Damuni while he played at Stanford.
He reached the six-tackle mark in six games this season, and 10-plus tackles in three straight games.
Safety Sione Vaki had a pass breakup during the first quarter; he has now defended three passes on the season (1 INT, 2 PBU).
Vaki was credited a 10-yard sack on Washington's first drive of the second half. It was a third-down stop and first sack for Vaki since the UCLA game.
Linebacker Karene Reid had a four-yard TFL during the game.
Cornerback Zemaiah Vaughn had a three-yard TFL during the second quarter. It brings Vaughn to 2.5 TFL on the season and was his first since the USC game.
The Utes held Washington to a three-and-out on its game-opening drive, marking the seventh opening drive this season that a Utah opponent has gone without a first down. It was also just the fourth time this season that Washington did not score a touchdown on its game-opening drive.
 Special Teams
Connor O'Toole recorded his first career field goal block with 1:38 left in regulation. It was a 32-yard attempt for Washington and was Utah's first blocked field goal since the Oregon game at Rice-Eccles Stadium on Nov. 20, 2021 (Cole Bishop).
Playing on the punt team, Luca Caldarella recorded his second multi-tackle game as a Ute and first this season.
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