#18 Utah Football Loses Steam In Second Half At #5 Washington ...

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SEATTLE, Wash. – It was a tale of two halves inside Husky Stadium today between the No. 18 Utah Football team and the No. 5 Washington Huskies after the Utes put up 28 points in the first half, but would end up falling 35-28 in the end. Utah is 7-3 overall this season and 4-3 in Pac-12 play.

Utah finished the game with 382 yards of total offense, which included 306 in the first half, but the Utes were unable to find that same spark in the second half with just 76 total yards in the final two quarters. The Utes recorded 267 yards passing and 115 rushing total, with 238 of the passing yards taking place in the first two quarters of the game.

Penalties in the game also caused momentum issues for both teams with Utah getting eight (97 yds) and Washington accumulating 11 (100 yds). The Huskies produced 457 yards on offense with 332 yards through the air, also winning the time of possession battle at 34:58 to 25:02.

GAME LEADERS Quarterback Bryson Barnes threw for a career-high 267 yards and two touchdowns, going 17-of-30 passing (2 INT), also rushing for 39 yards. Barnes and Vele connected five times with Vele racking up a career-best 145 yards (29.0 ypc) while Sione Vaki added four catches for 67 yards and a touchdown.

Ja'Quinden Jackson and Jaylon Glover led the Utes on the ground with 29 and 37 yards respectively with Jackson also scoring both of Utah's rushing touchdowns.

Linebacker Levani Damuni had his third-straight game with double-digit tackles, tying his career-high with 12 stops while Karene Reid added nine tackles (1.0 TFL). Cole Bishop also contributed seven stops with Vaki pitching in four tackles (1.0 sacks, 1.0 TFL) and a pass breakup.

FIRST QUARTER BREAKDOWN It was a defensive battle to begin the game with neither team finding the end zone until the 6:06 mark, but both teams would go on to score a combined 17 points to start the first half shootout.

Washington struck first, taking a 7-0 lead on a two-yard rushing touchdown, ending a seven-play, 77-yard drive that took 3:54 off the clock. The Utes would take over on their own 25-yard line, making quick work of their next drive.

Barnes and the Utes battled their way down field on a six-play, 75-yard scoring drive that included a 41-yard catch by Vele on a second-and-one to put Utah on the Washington 22-yard line. The next two plays, Barnes linked up with Landen King for 15-yard and five-yard catches to the UW two-yard line with Jackson punching in the two-yard rushing touchdown to tie things up with 3:37 remaining.

The Huskies would then go on to take the lead with just 24 seconds left on a 41-yard field goal, making it 10-7 as time expired in the first quarter.

SECOND QUARTER BREAKDOWN The shootout would continue into the second quarter with both teams combining for five touchdowns and 35 points with the Utes taking the first lead. On Utah's first drive of the quarter, the name of the game was to extend the drive with Jackson, Glover and Barnes all converting on third downs to keep the Utes marching down field.

On the final three plays of the drive, Barnes rushed for a first down on a third-and-one, followed by a quick catch from Vaki to put the Utes on the Washington six-yard line. Barnes went on to find Miki Suguturaga open for his first-career receiving touchdown, catching the ball for a six-yard score and to give Utah a 14-10 advantage with 9:00 on the clock.

The Huskies regained the lead with 6:59 left in the quarter, scoring on a 34-yard passing play. It ended a six-play, 75-yard drive that took just 2:01 off the clock, allowing the Utes to get the ball back with 6:50 to go.

It didn't take long for the Utes to find the end zone on their next drive with Barnes hitting Money Parks and Vaki for first downs. It would be Vaki's catch that put the Utes back in the lead with Vaki turning his first down snag into a 53-yard touchdown, giving Utah a 21-17 lead at the 5:59 mark.

The back and forth continued with Washington scoring its second touchdown of the quarter with 3:17 on the clock, going up 24-21 on a five-yard rushing score. The Utes would start on their own nine-yard line for its next drive, once again finding their way back into the lead.

Utah faced a third-and-one on their own 18-yard line three plays into its drive, but Barnes would get the first down with a three-yard gain to keep things alive. Two plays later, Barnes would launch a 68-yard pass to Vele to the Washington seven-yard line with Jackson wrapping up the drive with his second touchdown of the game, scoring on a gritty seven-yard rush for a 28-24 Utah lead at half.

THIRD QUARTER BREAKDOWN The tides would turn in the second half as the Huskies put up 11 unanswered points in the third quarter, taking a 35-28 lead. Washington hit a 38-yard field goal with 8:02 on the clock to make it a one-point game, followed by a 33-yard passing score before a failed two-point conversion.

After the Huskies had a near pick-six, they dropped the ball on the two-yard line with offensive lineman Michael Mokofisi making a great play to recover it. Unfortunately, Utah would get stopped in its own end zone with the Huskies getting two points on a safety to make it 35-28.

FOURTH QUARTER BREAKDOWN With under two minutes to go in the game, Utah's defense came up with a big stop to force Washington to attempt a field goal with Connor O'Toole getting the block and Tevita Fotu recovering the ball to give the Utes one final chance.

Utah lined up on its own 18-yard line with 1:38 remaining, but another turnover from the Utes with 44 seconds to go would seal the game for the Huskies.

UP NEXT Utah will remain on the road next week as they take on the Arizona Wildcats on Saturday, Nov. 18 in Tucson. The game time and TV network will be announced at a later date.