No. 4 Huskies squeak by Utes in showdown
Dante Pettis returned a punt 58 yards for a touchdown with 3:25 left and No. 4 Washington held off No. 17 Utah 31-24 on Saturday to remain undefeated.
After Utah tied the score 24-24 with 9:07 left, Washington (8-0, 5-0 Pac-12) pinned the Utes on their own 1 on quarterback Jake Browning’s pooch punt. The host Utes (7-2, 4-2) went three-and-out and Mitch Wishnowsky punted to Pettis, who ran laterally toward the far sideline, broke a tackle and outran everyone else.
Browning threw for 186 yards and two touchdowns, and Myles Gaskin ran for 151 and a touchdown.
“It was awesome for Dante to get that return at the end because that’s a heck of a punter,” Washington coach Chris Petersen said. “He’s a weapon. We could get nothing. He just kept driving us back, driving us back. We finally got our chance and Dante made a couple guys miss and hats off to him.
“This is real football, Pac-12 football . ... This is how it goes, sometimes you have to grind out games in the fourth quarter.”
Fans may have gotten a preview of the Pac-12 championship game as the Huskies continue to hold the top spot in the North Division. The Utes fell a half-game behind Colorado in the South but remain in the hunt.
Utah quarterback Troy Williams threw for 163 yards and two touchdowns, and Joe Williams continued his remarkable return from retirement with 172 rushing yards and a touchdown.
The two teams went back and forth in the second half after Washington led 14-10 at halftime. The Utes were on the ropes, trailing 14-0 in the second quarter, when safety Chase Hansen read Browning’s eyes, jumped a deep route and returned the interception 30 yards to set up Williams’ 2yard touchdown run. It was Browning’s first interception since Sept. 24. Andy Phillips kicked a field goal as time expired in the second quarter.
Oregon 54, Arizona State 35:
Justin Herbert threw for 489 yards and four touchdowns and the host Ducks (3-5, 1-5 Pac-12) snapped a five-game losing streak. Pharaoh Brown caught seven passes for a career-best 129 yards and two touchdowns as the Ducks finally got a conference win. Herbert, a true freshman who was making his third career start after taking over the job from graduate transfer Dakota Prukop, has scored 12 touchdowns over that span. Herbert’s passing yards against the Sun Devils matched Bill Musgrave’s school record of 489 against BYU in 1989. The Sun Devils (5-4, 2-4) also started a freshman at quarterback. With Manny Wilkins injured, Dillon Sterling-Cole passed for 302 yards and his first career touchdown.