Utah turns to its defense to hold off Washington, 34-23
Gionni Paul returned a fumble 54 yards for a touchdown and set up another score with an interception, and Utah held off Washington, 34-23, on Saturday night in Seattle to remain in control of the Pac-12 Conference South Division race.
The Utes (8-1, 5-1), No. 12 in the College Football Playoff ranking, leaned on big plays from their defense to overcome the Huskies (4-5, 2-4). After going two weeks without forcing a turnover, Utah forced three in the first half and made that stand up against Washington’s second-half rally.
Paul jumped on Dwayne Washington’s fumble midway through Utah’s 24-point second quarter and ran it in to give the Utes a 21-6 lead. Quarterback Travis Wilson ran three yards for a touchdown with 3:27 left in the fourth quarter after Utah had gone scoreless in the second half. Devontae Booker rushed for 150 yards to help Utah maintain a onegame lead in the Pac-12 South.
No. 11 Stanford 42, at Colorado 10: Kevin Hogan threw for two touchdowns, ran for one and surpassed Andrew Luck as the school’s winningest quarterback, recording his 32nd victory.
He and the Cardinal got a big assist from Christian McCaffrey, who put on a quite a show for friends and family. McCaffrey, who grew up in nearby Denver, where his father, Ed, starred for the Broncos in the 1990s, collected 220 all-purpose yards and also completed a 28yard touchdown pass to tight end Austin Hooper.
McCaffrey, who played barely three quarters, had 147 yards rushing, 15 receiving and 58 on returns against the Buffaloes (4-6, 1-5).
The Cardinal (8-1, 7-0 Pac-12) bounced back from a scare at Washington State, where it escaped with a 30-28 win on a shanked field goal as time expired. Stanford’s final three games are all home, against Oregon, California and Notre Dame.
at Washington State 38, Arizona State 24: Luke Falk threw for 497 yards and five touchdowns, and the Cougars became bowl-eligible for the second time in Coach Mike Leach’s four seasons.
Dom Williams caught six passes for 123 yards and two touchdowns for the Cougars (6-3, 4-2 Pac-12), who erased a 14-0 first-quarter deficit.
Arizona State (4-5, 2-4) scored touchdowns on each its first two possessions, then was held to one more the rest of the game in suffering its third straight loss.
Washington State, which lost on a last-second missed field goal last week against No. 9 Stanford, managed to protect Falk from one of the Pac-12’s best pass rushes. He completed 36 of 55 passes, with one interception.
at Oregon 44, California
28: Vernon Adams Jr. passed for 300 yards and four touchdowns, Royce Freeman ran for 180 yards, and the Ducks (6-3, 4-2) won their third in a row. Jared Goff threw for 329 yards and two touchdowns but completed only 18 of 41 passes for Cal (5-4, 2-4), which has lost four straight.