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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's dominant 49-6 win over Washington State came as the result of a complete team effort. For the second straight week, the Utes came up big in all three phases of the game with a balanced and efficient offense, a stingy defense, and solid special teams.
But two players in particular — both by the name of Reggie — made a huge impact Saturday afternoon, coming up with big plays to keep the Utes in full control against the Cougars.
Reggie "Topps" the WSU receivers
Utah's defensive secondary came up big against Mike Leach's pass-happy offense, limiting Washington State to just 259 yards in the air — more than 70 yards below its average. A big chunk of those yards came in the fourth quarter against the Utes' backups when the game was already well out of reach.
Senior Reggie Topps led the secondary with seven tackles, one sack, and an interception, which he returned for 21 yards. This performance came as a follow up to a solid game last week versus Cal in which he recorded three tackles and returned a fumble recovery for a touchdown.
"We had to focus on the passing," Topps said. "A lot of this game was going to come down to defense, especially the (defensive backs). With the stars we have up front, we only rushed three or four and they were still bringing pressure, which gave a good chance for the defensive backs to (defend passes) and get interceptions."
The interception was the second of Topps' career and first this season.
"It felt great to finally get one this season," he said. "I'll try to get a couple more before I get out of here."
Topps' performance was especially key due the absence of senior Ryan Lacy, who missed the game with an undisclosed injury.
"We knew we had to step up our game and play for him," Topps said. "As a corner group, we knew we all had to. We talked personally about it. It came down to pride."
"Those guys stepped up," Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham of the secondary. "It's just 'next-man-up' mentality. Next guy in, pick up the slack, and that's how we operate."
Other Utes helped fill in for the injured Lacy as well. Lewis Walker, a senior who transferred from Hawaii, saw significant time at nickel back. He found himself matched up with the Cougars' star receiver Marquess Wilson on multiple occasions, doing a solid job at keeping the ball away from him. Walker recorded four tackles with one pass defended on the day.
"The kid is a baller," Topps said of Walker. "It was good to have his presence out there."
Reggie has "Dunn" it again
After returning two kickoffs for 100-yard touchdown runs last week against Cal, Reggie Dunn took another one to the house this week.
Washington State only kicked off once all game— to open the second half— but Dunn made the most of his one opportunity. He fielded the ball five yards deep and took off, soon finding himself in large crowd. He navigated his way through the bustling throng, sprinting all the way across the open field for the touchdown.
"I put my hand on Charles Henderson's back and let him lead me through there, and then it was just open field from there," Dunn said. "I knew it was going to happen because I saw it in the kickoff return team's eyes. They were ready to make it happen again. We figured we wouldn't get that many opportunities at it, but we made our one opportunity count."
It was the fourth 100-yard return of Dunn's career, breaking the NCAA record, which he tied last week after his third. Dunn also broke school records for most career kickoff returns for touchdowns (4) and most kickoff returns for touchdowns in a single season (3).
"Reggie Dunn — again," Whittingham said. "It's impressive what he's doing for us special teams wise."
"I just thank God for this opportunity that he gave me to play college football and the coaching staff for allowing me to be here and my kickoff return team," Dunn said. "They block so well, so it's not just me. I thank all those guys and Coach (Jay) Hill for coming up with great schemes every week."
Can Dunn add another big return to his own records before the season ends?
"I could do it every week if they keep kicking it to me," Dunn said with a chuckle.
The Utes have built up substantial momentum over the past two match-ups, which they must continue to build upon. They will need to put together another complete game as they travel to Seattle to face a tough road test against Washington at CenturyLink Stadium.
"The whole team is feeding off each other," Dunn said. "I feed off the defense when they're making plays, they feed off the offense. This win goes to everybody — the crowd, offense, defense, coaching staff, family, everybody."
"Keep fighting our way out of the corner," Whittingham said. "That's our mentality."
