Utah Football Falls Short Against Cyclones, 31-28

Saturday, November 23

Salt Lake City, Utah

5:30 p.m.

University of Utah

4-7 , 1-7

Iowa State

9-2 , 6-2

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Iowa St.

Utah

Utah Football Falls Short Against Cyclones, 31-28

11/23/2024 10:03 PM | Football

Box Score Photo Gallery

SALT LAKE CITY – The University of Utah Football team fell short on Saturday night against the Iowa State Cyclones, losing 31-28 in its final game in Rice-Eccles Stadium this season. Utah is 4-7 overall and 1-7 in Big 12 play.

Down 24-13 at the end of the third quarter, the Utes scored 14 unanswered in the fourth to take a 28-24 lead with 5:51 left in the game. Safety Jackson Bennee blocked a punt at the 14:41 mark with wide receiver David Washington recovering it in the end zone for a touchdown.

The Utes went on to make it a three-point game after senior quarterback Luke Bottari found Caleb Lohner in the end zone for the two-point conversion, cutting the Cyclone lead to 24-21. Utah's defense would force Iowa State to punt once again, setting the Utah offense up at its nine-yard line with 12:15 on the clock.

Utah drove down 91 yards with the drive including a career-long 40-yard rush by Bottari on a third-and-two, ending with a one-yard rushing touchdown by Micah Bernard to give the Utes a 28-24 lead. Iowa State would takeover on its own 25-yard line with 5:51 remaining in the game, burning 4:20 off the clock on a 75-yard drive to regain the advantage on a three-yard rushing score.

Taking over with 1:31 left to play, Utah found its way to the Cyclone 36-yard line to attempt a 54-yard field goal, but unfortunately the kick went wide, allowing Iowa State to leave with the 31-28 victory.

GAME LEADERS
Freshman Isaac Wilson finished the game with 74 passing yards on 8-of-8 completions before leaving the game with an injury. Bottari came in to throw for 55 yards (5-of-9), adding a career-high 47 rushing yards.

Bernard wrapped up his last game in Rice-Eccles Stadium with 68 all-purpose yards that included 47 rushing and 26 receiving yards. Freshman Daidren Zipperer also added a career-best 66 receiving yards on five catches.

Safety Rabbit Evans racked up a career-high 12 tackles on defense with Karene Reid and Tao Johnson contributing eight stops each. Linebacker Lander Barton also had two tackles and a pick-six with the interception return for a touchdown going 87 yards, the longest pick-six by a linebacker in program history.

STANDOUT STAT
Barton's pick-six in the second quarter extended Utah's streak of consecutive seasons with an interception returned for a touchdown to 21. It dates back to 2004 and is the longest active streak in FBS football.

UP NEXT
The Utes are set to play in their final regular season game, traveling to Orlando, Fla., to take on the UCF Knights on Friday, Nov. 29 at 6 p.m. MT. The game will air on FOX.