SALT LAKE CITY (AP) Ty Jordan ran for 154 yards and three touchdowns to rally Utah to a 45-28 victory over Washington State on Saturday.
Britain Covey added a career-high 134 yards and a touchdown on six catches to help power the Utes’ comeback effort. Backup quarterback Drew Lisk threw for 152 yards in relief of starter Jake Bentley.
Utah (3-2, 3-2 Pac-12) outscored Washington State 38-0 in the second half to notch its third straight victory to end the 2020 season.
Jayden De Laura threw for 204 yards, a touchdown, and an interception to lead the Cougars. Max Borghi added 95 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Washington State (1-3, 1-3) closed the 2020 season with its third straight loss.
Lisk breathed new life into Utah’s offense after Benchley got benched late in the second quarter. He led Utah on three straight second-half touchdown drives to erase a 21-point deficit. Jordan scored twice on the three drives and tied it at 28 with 12:01 left when he bounced outside on fourth-and-2 and sprinted 33 yards untouched down the sideline for the score.
Washington State committed turnovers on its final four drives to open the door for Utah to take the lead and complete an improbable comeback.
Clark Phillips snagged two of the turnovers himself. Phillips recovered a fumble by Borghi, setting up Jordan’s 13-yard go-ahead run that gave Utah its first lead at 35-28. Then, the freshman returned an interception 36 yards for Utah’s final score with 2:06 left.
Justus Rogers forced Jordan to fumble on Utah’s second drive of the game and Washington State took a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter when Borghi bounced outside and raced 8 yards for a touchdown.
The Cougars extended their lead to 14-0 midway through the second quarter on an 11-yard sprint up the middle from Deon McIntosh. Borghi set up Washington State’s second touchdown with a 37-yard run on third-and-9.
Utah’s offense finally showed some life when Covey caught a pass down the sideline and raced 91 yards to put the Utes on the board late in the second quarter. Covey’s catch was the second-longest pass play in school history for Utah.
The Cougars wasted no time answering the Utes.
De Laura completed three passes to Jamire Calvin, capped by an 8-yard touchdown grab, to march Washington State 75 yards in four plays. Then, Bentley threw an interception two plays later to Jahad Woods, who returned it 36 yards to set up a 3-yard touchdown run by De Laura that gave the Cougars a 28-7 lead going into halftime.
THE TAKEAWAY
Washington State: The Cougars made a series of big plays on both sides of the ball to build a comfortable lead and then unraveled under intense defensive pressure over the final two quarters.
Utah: The Utes struggled to get on track until making a change at quarterback on their final series before halftime. Lisk ran the offense during the second half and moved the chains like a poised veteran.
UP NEXT
Washington State has concluded its season.
Utah has concluded its season.
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