Price, Sankey lead Washington past Utah 34-15


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SEATTLE (AP) - Getting John White to 100 yards rushing had always meant victory for Utah.

White did his part Saturday night against Washington, but the streak finally came to an end.

Utah 15, Washington 34
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"The run game was pretty good. The throw game stunk. We've got to have more balance offensively and in this day and age, it's not 1940, when 180 yards or whatever we got was adequate." - Head coach Kyle WhittinghamGame Day Coverage

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The Utes had been 11-0 in games when White had run for over 100 yards in his career. White rushed for 142 yards on 22 carries but couldn't overcome a dismal passing day from Travis Wilson in a 34-15 loss to Washington on Saturday night.

Utah (4-6, 2-5 Pac-12) managed to throw for just 55 yards, and Wilson was intercepted once and sacked four times by the Huskies. It was the lowest passing output by the Utes since throwing for just 51 yards against Boise State on Sept. 30, 2006.

"The run game was pretty good. The throw game stunk," head coach Kyle Whittingham said. "We've got to have more balance offensively and in this day and age, it's not 1940, when 180 yards or whatever we got was adequate."

Utah remained winless on the road and must win its final two games to be bowl eligible for the 10th straight season.

"It's disappointing, but we've got to move on," White said of breaking the streak. "You can't dwell on that. We have to focus on these two wins. We got to make sure we get me and the rest of these seniors to a bowl game."

The Utes drove 65 yards on just five plays on their second possession of the game as White broke through the Washington defense untouched for a 46-yard touchdown. But the offense disappeared from there. Wilson completed just 8 of 23 passes for the game as Utah failed to find any consistency moving the football.

"The passing game only having 55 passing yards. I mean, that's really embarrassing for me," Wilson said. "I've just got to keep on working hard and make sure everyone keeps their head up and make sure everyone moves on from this, and we have a good week of practice."

Whittingham had seen improvement from Wilson each week since he took over the starting job but saw his take a sizeable step backward Saturday night.

"It was almost, you don't want to say it was inevitable, but you're bound to have a hiccup or two here and there with a true freshman, and tonight was that hiccup," Whittingham said.

Washington (6-4, 4-3) became the last BCS conference team to top 21 points against an FBS opponent when Bishop Sankey scored on a 2-yard toss sweep late in the third quarter to give the Huskies a 27-15 lead.

Sankey finished with 162 yards on 36 carries and became just the 10th 1,000-yard rusher in Washington history, with two games remaining in the regular season. Sankey has 1,017 yards rushing after entering fall camp the Huskies' No. 3 running back.

Price threw touchdowns to Kasen Williams and DiAndre Campbell and ran for a 4-yard TD, his first rushing touchdown this season.

Price had struggled for most of the season, thanks in part to protection issues on the offensive line, and rarely looked like the dynamic star that threw for 33 touchdowns a season ago. Some of that spark was finally back against Utah. Price kept plays alive with his feet and, for the most part, was very accurate with his throws.

Utah's John White (15) is brought down by Washington's Marcus Peters in the first half of NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 10, 2012, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
Utah's John White (15) is brought down by Washington's Marcus Peters in the first half of NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 10, 2012, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Price finished 24 of 33 for 277 yards, easily his best performance of the season. Tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins had seven catches for 99 yards to break the school record for receptions by a tight end that was previously held by Mark Bruener at 95. Seferian-Jenkins also pitched in with a handful of plays on the defensive line, where the Huskies have been depleted by injuries.

Williams finished with seven catches, including a beautiful toe-tapping 8-yard TD reception in the first half as Price was engulfed by a Utah blitz. Price connected with eight different receivers.

"He was much more the leader, the Keith that we grew to know and love a year ago. That guy was starting to come back," Washington coach Steve Sarkisian said.

Washington led 14-8 at halftime and got a break on the opening possession of the second half when Utah's risky attempt failed.

Whittingham took a chance and went for it on fourth and 1 from his own 43. White was met in the hole by Danny Shelton and John Timu, who intercepted Wilson late in the first half deep in Washington's end, and the ensuing measurement was short.

Washington quickly took advantage of the field position, with Price hitting Seferian-Jenkins for 24 yards down to the Utah 9 and finding Campbell wide open on a quick throw against blitz pressure to give the Huskies a 21-8 lead. White scored on a 20-yard run midway through the third quarter to cut the Washington lead to 21-15, but Sankey's TD late in the quarter pushed the lead back to two scores.

The Huskies capped the victory with a 16-play, 82-yard drive in the fourth quarter that drained nearly 9 minutes off the clock and was finished off by Sankey's second TD run.

The only time this season Washington had topped 21 points before Saturday was in a 52-17 blowout of FCS Portland State. (Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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