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SALT LAKE CITY — Using a diverse and aggressive offense, the Utah Utes held off the No. 14 Stanford Cardinal at their home to claim a 40-21 win.
It’s the first win for the Utes in Pac-12 play this season, after dropping their first two of the season to Washington and Washington State. Stanford made it a one-score game in the fourth quarter, but Utah quarterback Tyler Huntley connected with Samson Nacua for a 57-yard passing touchdown to seal the victory for the Utes.
Utah was the first to score Saturday on a 7-yard rushing touchdown by Zack Moss on a pitch from Huntley in the first quarter. The drive and ensuing score milked more than 6 minutes off the clock as Utah controlled with its time management. Moss would score a 35-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter on a fourth-and-two call by the Utes.
The junior running back would finish the game as the leading rusher for both teams, with 160 yards and two touchdowns in a night where Utah amassed 222 yards rushing against the Cardinal defense.
With Stanford in striking distance on the Utes’ 9-yard line in the second quarter, Utah’s Jaylon Johnson picked off Cardinal quarterback K.J. Costello and returned it for a 100-yard touchdown. The returned touchdown is only the third in Utah history and the first pick-six against the Cardinal since 2011 against Oregon.
Stanford would score its first points of the game with 24 seconds left in the first half on a 2-yard rushing touchdown by running back Trevor Speights. The Cardinal would go on to score another rushing touchdown in the third quarter on a 1-yard dive into the end zone by running back Cameron Scarlett.
Utah improves to 3-2, 1-2 on the season and returns home on the short week to host Arizona Friday night at 8 p.m. at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
