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TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - Utah mixed up its coverages to confuse Nick Foles and got in his face a couple of times, too.
Using its strength to take away Arizona's, in addition to another solid game from quarterback Jon Hays, the Utes put themselves on the verge of a ninth straight bowl.
It was over when ...Utah's Conroy Black intercepted a Nick Foles' pass in the end zone late in the fourth quarter, returning it all the way into Utah territory. John White IV followed that up with an 11-yard TD run to put the Utes up 34-14. Quotable
"This is how Utah plays. This is how we should play, this is how it should be done." -Utah running back John White IV
Utah's defense hounded Foles into a pair of big mistakes, while Hays threw for 199 yards and a pair of touchdowns to lift the Utes to a 34-21 win over the Wildcats on Saturday.
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"This is how Utah plays," said Utes running back John White, who had 109 yards and a pair of touchdowns on the ground. "This is how we should play, this is how it should be done."
Utah (5-4, 2-4 Pac-12) has been good defensively all season and did it again against one of the nation's best passing teams. The Utes got in Foles' face early and mixed up their coverages throughout the game, setting up a pair of interceptions.
Utah has one of the nation's best defenses, so that wasn't too much of a surprise, even against the high-flying Wildcats.
The nice part was the continuing evolution of Hays and the offense.
The Utes struggled offensively even before starting quarterback Jordan Wynn was injured and seemed to take a step back the first few games under Hays.
The junior threw seven interceptions in four games after replacing Wynn before finally putting together a solid game last week against Oregon State.
Hays may not have been spectacular against Arizona, but he was solid, hitting 12 of 21 passes while calmly directing Utah's offense for a second straight turnover-less game.
"He's more confident, he's making better decisions, he's not forcing the ball into coverage, just all those things you hope would happen in a maturation of a quarterback," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said.
Maturation has never been a problem for Foles.
A projected first-round NFL draft pick, he's been one of the nation's most prolific passers over the past two seasons.
The past two games haven't gone quite the way he had hoped.
A week after throwing three interceptions in a loss to Washington, Foles made some shaky throws and decisions against Utah. He hit 25 of 43 passes for 326 yards and had a pair of touchdown tosses to David Douglas, but also had two key interceptions, including one in the end zone with Arizona (2-7, 1-6) at Utah's 2-yard line in the fourth quarter.
"You've got to play a full game," Foles said. "I've got to know everything. That's what I expect of myself, but sometimes it doesn't work out. It hasn't really worked out the past two weeks."
The game figured to be a clash of strengths. Arizona has one of the nation's best passing offenses behind Foles, the nation's leader with over 32 completions per game.
Utah, despite its struggles in the Pac-12, has the nation's 22nd-ranked defense, allowing just over 325 yards per game, and is second in the conference in defensive scoring.
The advantage went to the Utes.
Utah sacked Foles twice in the first half and used pressure to generate its first interception. Matt Martinez got it with a diving grab at Arizona's 30-yard line, setting up White's 18-yard touchdown run that put Utah up 17-0.
Utah's special teams were good, sniffing out Arizona's fake field goal attempt in the first quarter, blocking two punts in the first half and getting good returns throughout the game.
Coleman Petersen hit a 32-yard field goal after Greg Bird got to Kyle Dugandzic's first punt of the game, but missed from 42 yards after another partially-blocked punt in the second quarter.
Utah's offense wasn't bad, either.
Arizona stacked the box to stop the run early in the game and Utah made them pay for it, using play-action to spring DeVonte Christopher for a 65-yard touchdown pass from Hays that put the Utes up 10-0 on the second play of the second quarter.
Hays also opened the second half with a 44-yard touchdown pass to Reggie Dunn after Arizona cornerback Lyle Brown slipped, putting the Utes up 27-7.
"Our receivers were burning off the line tonight; they are all playmakers and they created easy touchdowns," Hays said. "We needed to take advantage of one-on-one matchups tonight and we did."
Arizona's offense struggled before finally showing some life late in the second quarter, moving 73 yards in seven plays to set up Douglas' acrobatic 23-yard touchdown catch from Foles. Douglas made the catch over his shoulder while diving and barely got his foot in for the highlight-worthy score.
Foles hit Douglas again late in the third quarter, throwing on the run for a 42-yard touchdown that cut Utah's lead to 27-14. Douglas finished with 10 catches for a career-high 156 yards.
Foles again had the Wildcats driving midway through the fourth quarter, but a short fade pass in the end zone from the 2-yard line was picked off by Utah's Conroy Black, who returned it across midfield. White followed with an 11-yard score to put the game out of reach.
"They fought to the last (second) and that is not reason to hang their head," Arizona interim coach Tim Kish said. "They do have a reason to be disappointed because there is no way we can make the critical mistakes we made and get a good outcome against a team like Utah."
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
