Oct 31, 2015; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; The Utah Utes defeated the Oregon State Beavers 27-12 at Rice Eccles Stadium. Photo Credit: Rob Gray
It was a big weekend with a lot going on in the sports world in the state of Utah. Here is a breakdown of everything that happened.
Utah knocks off Washington on the road, 34-23
The Utes picked up their second straight win against a very physical and talented Washington team. Travis Wilson went 12/25 passing for 155 yards, 0 TD’s and 1 INT, as well as 10 carries for 42 yards and 2 Touchdowns. Devontae Booker had another outstanding performance as he ran the ball 34 times for 150 yards and 1 touchdown. After having 0 takeaways on the defensive side of the ball for the last 2 weeks, the Utah defense stepped up and forced 4 Washington turnovers. The first was a fumbled snap on a punt that the Utes recovered. Gionni Paul picked off the true freshman QB Jake Browning and took it to the 5-yard line. Followed by 2 more fumbles in which one of them was taken to the end zone by Gionni Paul. Paul was named the Walter Camp and Pac-12 Defensive Player of the week. On the last play of the game, Utah Safety and 3rd string QB Chase Hansen injured his leg and will miss the remainder of the season. Utah improved to 8-1 overall and 5-1 in the Pac-12 and moved up to #10 in the latest AP poll and will play their last road game of the regular season this Saturday against the Arizona Wildcats (5-5 overall, 2-5 Pac-12) at 8pm on ESPN 700.
BYU sneaks by San Jose State, 17-16
BYU looked very good in the first quarter as they scored on their first 2 drives (Mitch Matthews and Algie Brown TD’s) to lead 14-3 before Tanner Mangum threw an interception that the Spartans took to the house for 61 yards at the end of the first half to trail by 4 points into the locker room. After a scoreless 3rd quarter for both teams, the Cougars took a 17-10 lead on a Samson 31 yard field goal. San Jose State led a drive late in the fourth quarter as the QB Kenny Potter ran in a 6-yard score with :45 left in the game. The Spartans decided to go for the win as they attempted a two-point conversion but failed as the ball went over the receiver’s hands for an incomplete pass. Tanner Mangum attempted 37 passes, completing 23 of them for 293 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception. Algernon Brown had 12 carries for 41 yards and 1 touchdown. Devon Blackmon had an outstanding performance with 6 catches for 102 yards. BYU improved to 7-2 on the season and will travel to Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City to face SEC’s Missouri Tigers (4-5) at 5:30 on the SEC Network.
Utah State falls to New Mexico in Albuquerque
Utah State looked to win their second straight game but couldn’t get the offense going as they lost to New Mexico 14-13. The Aggies missed a 41-yard field goal that would have given them the lead with 1 minute left. Kent Myers started for USU even though Chuckie Keeton was back. Myers went 13/24 for 213 yards and 1 touchdown. The running game did not exist for Aggies as they ran the ball 37 times for 78 yards and 0 touchdowns. It didn’t help that they turned the ball over twice. Utah State is now 5-4 overall on the season and 4-2 in the Mountain West Conference. They will return to the road to face Air Force (6-3 overall, 4-1 in Mountain West) at 12pm on ESPN 3.
Utah Jazz win their first home game against Memphis, 89-79
The Utah Jazz looked to build on their previous game that was a win against Denver as they hosted the Memphis Grizzlies. The Jazz dominated the first 3 quarters as they led by 20 points heading into the 4th quarter, the Jazz would win 89-79. Trey Burke was on fire from the perimeter as he hit 6 threes on 8 attempts for 24 points off the bench. Gordon Hayward added 18 points on 6-10 shooting. Derrick Favors had 12 points and 16 rebounds. Rudy Gobert continues to impress as he scored 7 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 blocks. The Jazz are now 4-2 and will hit the road for a 4-game trip beginning in Cleveland (6-1) on Tuesday, the Miami Heat (4-3) on Thursday, the Orlando Magic (3-4) on Friday and the Atlanta Hawks (7-1)
