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Utah vs. Washington State Live Thread: Utes Win 45-28

Senior QB Drew Lisk, who entered the game late in the first half, led Utah to a magical come-from-behind victory as the Utes scored the final 38 points en route to a win over Washington State in the season finale

Ryan Kostecka

It's been well documented over the past two seasons how Utah has struggled to close seasons.

Including the Pac-12 title and bowl games, the Utes have gone a combined 0-4 in its final two games of the 2018 and 19 seasons. But in the other 24 games of those two years, Utah has gone a remarkable 20-4.

“It is sad. This is the first time in my career that we’re not playing for a championship. Or the opportunity to go to a championship,” wide receiver Britain Covey said. “It’s different. You’ve got to dig deep. You’ve got to find what motivates you. We’re going to have one more game and this has been such a weird season.”

So although the Utes won't be playing for a conference title this year, they still have a chance to do something that they haven't done since joining the Pac-12 in 2011; end a season with at least three consecutive wins.

It's also the first time the Utes will be playing in front of family and close friends as the Utah will have around 450 people in the stands cheering them. According to Utah athletic director Mark Harlan, Washington State has the opportunity for family and friends as well but it's unknown if they'll have people in attendance.

Dec 5, 2020; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Preparation for the game was underway prior to the Utah Utes plying the Oregon State Beavers at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Swinger-USA TODAY Sports

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PREGAME
*Today will mark head coach Kyle Whittingham's 200th career game at the helm of the Utes.

*Not so good news for Utah but it appears that Washington State star RB Max Borghi will play today. He’s going through pregame warmups and is moving around with no issue. Definitely something to keep an eye on

*Utah Kicker Jordan Noyes (who primarily handles the long kicks) just went 3-for-3 from 50 yards, but his attempt at 59 came up just short (but was on line)

*This is the sharpest Bentley has looked in pregame warmups so far this season. You can tell he's gaining more and more confidence entering his fourth start as a Ute

*Looks as if Nick Ford will start at center again in place of an injured Orlando Umana

FIRST QUARTER
*Utah has won the toss and deferred. Washington State will start the game with the ball

*Washington State will start the game with the ball at its own 23

*Nate Ritchie with a near interception on the first play of the game. He tipped the ball into the air but his momentum took him away from grabbing it on his way down

*Utah defense gets a three-and-out on the opening possession, Utes will take over at own 20

*Bentley tries to pick up the first down on 3rd-and-11 but is popped hard by WSU LB Jahad Woods to come up a yard short. Utes forced to punt after a three-and-out

*If Bentley would've hung in the pocket for a split second more and looked downfield, he had a WR running wide open. But he felt the pressure and elected to run for it

*Washington State will start their second drive from their own 33

*There goes Borghi for WSU, picking up 21 yards and putting the ball at Utah’s 36

*Devin Lloyd with a sack on 4th-and-3 to stop the WSU drive. Utes take over at own 39 with 9:44 left in the opening quarter

*Ty Jordan with his first two carries of the game get the Utes into WSU territory but he fumbles, which is recovered by the Cougars. WSU ball at own 43

*Upon replays, it appears Jordan was down before the ball popped loose. But officials see it differently, will stay WSU ball

*WSU’s de Laura’s ability to extend plays with his legs by getting out of the pocket and then improvise is giving Utah issues early on. Have to wonder if/when Scalley will go to a QB spy to keep him contained…

*WSU and de Laura are gashing the Utes in the passing game, mainly because they can’t seem to contain him in the pocket…

 *Touchdown WSU on a great run by Borghi

Utah 0 - Washington State 7
4:34 left 1Q
Scoring Drive: 7 plays, 57 yards in 4:26
de Laura looked sharp throwing the ball and then Borghi makes his presence felt with a rushing TD

*Utah will start its second drive of the game at its own 25

*Should be noted that Utah coaches have no real option but to go with Jordan despite him losing his third fumble of the season earlier in the game. Brumfield and Wilmore both left the program this week and are transferring

*Bentley incomplete to Covey on 3rd-and-7, Utah forced to punt after another there-and-out…

*Bentley left Covey out to dry and got him pummeled. He also had Enis wide open for a first down but didn't see him. Either way, not a good start for the senior considering how well he finished last week's game

*WSU begins with the ball at its own 34…

*Great stand by the defense as they force a three-and-out by the Cougars, stopping McIntosh on 3rd-and-2.

*Utes will take over at own 15 with 1:22 left in the opening quarter

*Another miss by Bentley... the Utah WR's no longer hiding their frustration with the inaccurate throws as you can see the disappointment in their body language...

Utah 0 - Washington State 7
End of 1Q
Utes struggling on offense while defense must contain Borghi and de Laura. Utah ball at own 49

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Utah FB vs. Washington State — First Quarter Stats

SECOND QUARTER
*Kuithe shaken up on the first play of the quarter as he takes a facemask to the lower back area. He’s up and walking off. The WSU player who hit him is still down on the field…

*Everyone is up and walked off under own power… play on...

*Not sure what happened but it looked like Jordan bumped the ball out of Bentley’s hands on a fake handoff… Utes recover at midfield

*I feel as if it’s said every game that Bentley is not a very good QB. He misses too many open throws. But then he makes a few great ones and redeems himself in the second half when given a chance. Hopefully that’s true today as well…

*Covey must’ve said or done something to Bentley this past week because that’s the third time the QB has left his star WR out to dry and just get pummeled…

*What was a promising drive comes to a brutal end as the Utes can't convert on 3rd-and-30, forcing a punt. WSU takes over at own 20 but a holding call pushes them back to their own 12

*On 3rd-and-10, WSU goes with a draw Borghi now has the ball at midfield after a 40-yard pickup...

*Utah’s defense is once again being gashed here. 1st-and-10 at the 11 for the Cougars….

*Touchdown Washington State on an 11-yard run by Deon McIntosh

Utah 0 - Washington State 14
8:31 left 2Q
Scoring Drive: 7 plays, 88 yards in 4:01
Facing very little resistance, WSU drove down the length of the field with relative ease for the score

*Utah will look to find any semblance of offense as it starts its drive at its own 25

*There you go. Despite the struggles, Bentley drops a dime to Kuithe to get the ball out to midfield. Throws like that are why he excites you, just needs to find consistency

*WSU with the INT after the Cougars defender literally grabbed the ball away from Nacua after he caught it and picked up the first down. That one isn’t on Bentley…

*Cougars ball at own 30 with 6:46 left in the half

*There are flags on EVERY play. At this point, the Utes might be playing in a "bowl game” considering this game will take a week to finish… Pac-12 refs, am I right?

*Utah’s defense holds, forcing a WSU punt. Utes will take over at own 5…

*It’s been a real ugly half of football for the Utes, but they have a chance to put it all to rest with a TD drive here to close it out, especially knowing they get the ball to start the 3Q. Big drive upcoming…

*TOUCHDOWN BRITAIN COVEY... 91-yard catch and run for the score

*It’s the fourth longest play from scrimmage in school history and second longest pass in school history…

Utah 7 - Washington State 14
3:37 left 2Q
Scoring Drive: 3 plays, 95 yards in 0:58
Covey ran a double-move/wheel route that Bentley hit him in stride for the score. Exactly what Utah needed...

*WSU takes over at own 25 and de Laura finds Calvin for a 49-yard gain, putting the ball at Utah 26

*Not good but Vonte Davis is now being examined for a concussion after he laid a massive hit two plays later. Walking off under his own power but definitely got his bell rung

*Touchdown Washington State as de Laura finds Calvin for an 8-yard scoring pass

Utah 7 - Washington State 21
1:51 left 2Q
Scoring Drive: 4 plays, 75 yards in 1:46
Not a good showing by the defense as they’re gashed by de Laura as the lead gets back to double digits

*Utes take over at own 30 and need to get something going here...

*WOW, Bentley threw an INT to the most open player in the field, Washington State's Jahad Woods... WSU takes over at Utah 3 yard line after the return...

*One play later and de Laura scores on a 3-yard rushing TD… Woof

Utah 7 - Washington State 28
1:21 left 3Q
Scoring Drive: 1 play, 3 yards in :04
Utes in serious danger of being blown out in season finale...

*IT’S ABOUT TIME… Senior Drew Lisk has entered the game in place of the embattled Bentley…

*It may just be two pays thus far but there's an entirely different type of energy with Lisk in the game... Utes seem more fired up and just overall better body language...

*Utah at their own 45 with 3rd-and-1 upcoming and 43 seconds left in the half

*Fourth-and-8 upcoming from WSU 39... curious what Whittingham elects to do right now...

*Utah goes for it and turns to over. Utes will go into the half down 28-7 after an abysmal first 30 minutes of play…

Utah 7 - Washington State 28
HALFTIME
Ouch, just ouch

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Utah FB vs. Washington State — Halftime Stats

HALFTIME
*In what's probably their worst half of a season (including the second half against Washington), Utah just looks unfocused and underprepared for this game...

*Not even sure what the Utes have to change in this one, but changes definitely need to be made. They have replaced Bentley with Lisk, but now have to find a way to contain de Laura as he's killing the Utes with his legs

*Utes have 3 turnovers and WSU has held the ball for 18+ minutes in the game... Cougars are also a perfect 4-for-4 in the redzone while the Utes have yet to make it there...

*Even with the issues, Utes will have the ball to begin the second half. A TD there and they're right back in this game...

*Crazy to think Bentley’s potentially last 2 plays for Utah would be the second longest passing play in program history AND an atrocious INT — pretty much sums up his short time in a Utah uniform; good, bad and inconsistent

*This could be the legendary moment Drew Lisk has been waiting for throughout his whole career... and can't imagine a player who best resembles what it means to be a Ute pulling it off...

*Real curious to see what Utah comes out with in the 2H. Largely underwhelming in the 1H, but this is the season finale. Have to imagine the Utes have more pride than that and come out and show it…

Dec 19, 2020; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Utes tight end Brant Kuithe (80) Washington State Cougars defensive back Daniel Isom (3) in the second quarter at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Swinger-USA TODAY Sports

THIRD QUARTER
*Utah will begin with the ball at its own 25 and Lisk in at QB 

*Not the start the Utes wanted. A three-and-out forces a punt, where WSU will take over at own 27

*Utah gets the stop on defense, as the offense takes over at its own 19

*Lisk comes out firing on 1st down and completes a ball to Bryan Thompson for a gain of 20 yards. Next play is a 26-yard run by Jordan into WSU territory…

*This is what happened last week as well. Utah got Jordan going in the run game and the QB (Bentley) ended up making the plays needed in the pass game to pull out the win. Similar format so far in the 2H

*Utah goes for it on 4th-and-1 in WSU territory and picks it up Bernard trucks a Cougars defender for an 11-yard gain... Utes ball at WSU 15

*TOUCHDOWN UTAH, Ty Jordan with a 5-yard run up the middle

Utah 14 - Washington State 28
6:09 left 3Q
Scoring Drive: 9 plays, 81 yards in 4:39
Great balance on offense as the Utes look drastically different on that drive. Lisk looks calm in the pocket and it makes a massive difference 

*Biggest difference that drive was Lisk looked calm and confident. He never panicked and would step up into the pocket to make throws, huge difference compared to Bentley

*WSU will start with the ball at its own 25

*Utah gets the three-and-out, by Davis had the ball hit him square in the chest as he couldn’t hang on for the INT. Utah takes over at own 32

*Jordan is finding his groove as he's gaining big chunks of yards... just extremely difficult to bring down — up to 98 yards rushing on 12 carries...

*After a pair of Jordan runs gets into WSU territory, Lisk hits Fotheringham to put the ball just outside the red zone

*TOUCHDOWN UTAH as Bryan Thompson tales the reverse and scores from 9 yards out

Utah 21 - Washington State 28
:55 left 3Q
Scoring Drive: 8 plays, 68 yards in 3:38
Another great drive by Lisk, who’s in complete command of the offense, ends with a phenomenal play call for a Thompson TD

*The play-calling has been great this half. But what's making it possible is Lisk doing all of the little things to keep rhythm and drives going. This allows Ludwig to dig deep into the playbook.

*WSU begins with the ball at its own 26…

Utah 21 - Washington State 28
End of 3Q
We've got a game as Utah, led by Drew Lisk, has come storming back to make this a one-score game heading into the 4Q

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Utah FB vs. Washington State — Stats through 3Q

FOURTH QUARTER
*Huge play by Davis as hets the sack on de Laura to force a WSU punt. Utes take over own 30

*On 3rd-and-9, Lisk finds a wide open Jordan out of the backfield for a gain of 27 and into WSU territory. Whittingham said a few weeks ago they need to get Jordan involved in the passing game more

*Heck of a throw by Lisk and catch by Kuithe but officials ruled it out of bounds. Replay looks like Kuithe got one foot down… officials will review

*Officials have done the CORRECT thing and given Kuithe the incredible catch to make it 4th-and-1… Utah going for it

*TOUCHDOWN UTAH as Ty Jordan scampers around right end for a 33-yard score

Utah 28 - Washington State 28
12:01 left 4Q
Scoring Drive: 7 plays, 70 yards in 2:15
Incredible turn of events as Lisk, Kuithe and Jordan have seized complete control of the game…

*Sort of at a loss for words right now watching Utah and Lisk spark this comeback. Biggest difference with Lisk is the energy and body language of the team. The Utes fully believe in Lisk and what he’s doing…

*Cammon Cooper, a Utah native, now in at QB for WSU as the Cougars start with the ball at their own 25

*Kaufusi knocks down Cooper’s pass on 3rd down, WSU forced to pun. Utah will take over at own 11 with 9:44 remaining

*Lisk-to-Enis for a huge pickup on 3rd-and-7 is followed by a Lisk-to-Covey for 19 yards… Utes now at own 43

*Utah’s offense stalls and is forced to punt. But it’s a beauty and flips the field, pinning WSU at their own 7 with 6:56 left in the game

*Borghi fumbles after gaining 13 yards, Utah recovers and returns it to its own 8. Phenomenal hit by Davis to force the fumble…

*TOUCHDOWN UTAH as Jordan scores from 8 yards out after breaking and spinning off multiple tackles…

Utah 35 -  Washington State 28
6:29 left 4Q
Scoring Drive: 2 plays, 13 yards in :12
Jordan is unreal with extraordinary vision. He broke multiple tackles and then had a nasty cut for the score… Utes capitalize on the TO

*The resiliency and pride that Utah has showed in this second half is the exact reason why they'll be a top-25 next season and competing for another Pac-12 south and conference title. The future is so bright but if they can hold on here, look out for next season!!!

*It's not over yet... after a long return and personal foul on the Utes, WSU takes over at own 42

*NVM... Tafua with a phenomenal move to force a de Laura fumble, which is recovered by Kaufusi. Utes ball at own 43

*Utah can't do anything with the turnover as it goes 3-and-out... pinning WSU at its own 5

*Utah will keep possession after punter Jared March is blasted while getting the punt off, resulting in a WSU personal foul. Utes ball at WSU 35 — and somehow March jogged off the field...

*Jordan stopped on 3rd-and-1, bringing up 4th-and-1 from the 26. Curious what Whittingham does here... go for it and essentially ice the game, or risk a 43-yard FG attempt...

*Redding drills it from 44 yards away to give Utah a two-score lead…

Utah 38 - Washington State 28
2:37 left 4Q
Scoring Drive: 7 plays, 30 yards in 3:37
Utes capitalize on the WSU penalty as Redding drills it from 44 yards. Huge kick there…

*WSU takes over at own 25...

*HAPPY BIRTHDAY CLARK PHILLIPS… INT RETURNED FOR A TOUCHDOWN

Utah 45 - Washington State 28
2:06 left 4Q
Phillips returns his INT 36 yards to completely ice the game for the Utes, as they’ve now reeled off 38 straight points…

*WSU will begin its drive at their own 25

*That’s the game!!! Phillips forces a fumble and Nephi Sewell recovers at Utah’s 9 yard line

Utah 45 - Washington State 28
FINAL
Utes storm back to score 38 straight points in the second half in HC Kyle Whittingham’s 200th career game

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Utah FB vs. Washington State — Final Stats

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