Utah wins fourth straight over BYU 20-13

PROVO, Utah (AP) - Strong defense has been a trademark of many past Utah teams. After a shaky performance in a loss to Oregon State, the Utes had legitimate questions on if their defense had finally lost a step.

After shutting down a potent BYU rushing attack, it's safe to say Utah has found a defensive groove once again.

The Utes (3-1, 0-1 Pac-12) held the Cougars in check for the bulk of four quarters on their way to a 20-13 victory on Saturday night. BYU (1-2) did not score its only touchdown of the game until Michael Alisa punched in a 1-yard run with 5:13 left.

Utah 20, BYU 13

It was over when
Taysom Hill's last throw down the field dropped out of bounds. Mitch Mathews was looking to get a pass interference call, but the game ended with Utah holding their touchdown lead. Play of the Game
Dres Anderson had been stopping on short routes for the first quarter. As the second was winding down he went with a double-move and got behind the defender and Travis Wilson hit him. Anderson crossed field and got the ball down to the one. The next play Wilson hit Anthony Denham to put the Utes up 13-0.Quotables
"This smile is going to be on my face forever, I've never lost to BYU and I'm happy about that. I can say that for years and years. It's great."

-Dres Anderson.

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BYU did gain 443 yards of total offense, but the Cougars could not generate the yardage when it counted. BYU converted just 3-of-5 red zone chances, were 5-of-21 on 3rd downs and 1-of-4 on fourth downs.

"I knew our defense was going to do a great job," Utah quarterback Travis Wilson said. "We just got to make sure on offense we move the ball in the fourth quarter. We should have ended the game a little bit sooner but, other than that, we did a good job."

Wilson did just enough on offense to make the defense's effort add up to a victory. He threw for 273 yards and two touchdown passes on 24-of-35 passing. Dres Anderson was his top target, with 141 yards on eight receptions.

James Poole added 96 yards on 18 carries for the Utes, who won their fourth straight game over the Cougars. Utah has won nine of the last 12 games in the series.

More importantly for Utah, it will carry the winning streak at least until 2016 while the rivalry takes a two-year hiatus.

"This smile is going to be on my face forever," Anderson said. "I've never lost to BYU and I'm happy about that. I can say that for years and years. It's great."

Taysom Hill threw for 260 yards and an interception on 18-of-48 passing and ran for 99 yards on 20 carries to lead BYU. The Cougars appeared poised to make a comeback after Alisa's fourth quarter touchdown run.

BYU had a chance to tie it up a few minutes later, but Michael Walker intercepted Hill's pass on 4th-and-13 from the Utah 38 with 1:37 left to slam the door on the Cougar comeback.

"We knew what was at stake for the whole team," Walker said. "We just wanted to win badly. That's all. We just wanted it."

Utah stifled BYU's offense throughout the first half. The Cougars went 3-and-out on four possessions and crossed midfield only three times. BYU's only scoring opportunity resulted in a missed 32-yard field goal from Justin Sorensen.

It took Utah some time to find a rhythm on offense. Freshman kicker Andy Phillips got things going early for the Utes. He connected on a 36-yard field goal to give Utah a 3-0 lead in the first quarter after James Poole raced down the sideline for 65 yards to get the Utes in scoring position. His second field goal - this time from 31 yards out - pushed the lead to 6-0 with 8:05 left before halftime.

"That guy has been lights out in four games," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said.

Utah tacked on a touchdown just before halftime to go up 13-0. Anderson broke several tackles on a slant route and took the ball down to the 1 yard line, setting up a 1-yard touchdown pass from Wilson to Anthony Denham.

Wilson accumulated 185 yards and a touchdown on 14-of-20 passing in the first half alone.

Quarterback play for the Cougars proved less reliable. Taysom Hill had difficulty breaking lose for the long runs he torched Texas with two weeks earlier and was forced to go to the air frequently. Hill had little success finding his receivers, throwing for 146 yards on just 9-of-23 passing before halftime.

"We need to be better in how we start the game," Hill said. "We need to be more efficient. There at the end we started to find gaps, and it's unfortunate we didn't find those sooner."

Hill came out stronger on the opening drive in the third quarter. He ripped off a 41-yard run to set up a 32-yard field goal by Sorensen that cut Utah's lead to 13-3. Sorensen converted a second field goal to make it 13-6 with 5:39 left in the third quarter.

BYU converted a fourth down at the Utah 29 to set up the second field goal. It came at a huge cost. Cougar running back Jamaal Williams was hurt after suffering a helmet to helmet collision while getting the first down yardage. His head was driven into the ground and Williams left the game on a stretcher midway through the third quarter. He did not return.

Williams had accumulated 52 yards on 13 carries for BYU before getting injured.

"Anytime Jamaal is off the field, it affects the game," BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said. "Our concern right now is for his neck. Hopefully they get a good prognosis. I haven't heard anything since they took him to the hospital."

Wilson turned back BYU's initial rally early in the fourth quarter. He completed seven straight pass attempts - capped off with a 2-yard scoring toss to Karl Williams - to extend Utah's lead to 20-6 with 12:44 left.

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