PK: Will Utah Football Get Punished For Nail-Biting Win Over Kansas State?

SALT LAKE CITY — All those impressive numbers that led to the college playoff committee showering love on Utah’s football team might not look as beautiful anymore.

Anybody remember the Utes allowing an opponent to rush for 348 yards? No way, the chorus screams in unison.

And get a load of this – Kansas State piled up the huge amount exclusively in the first half. Running back Joe Jackson alone galloped for 239 yards, which included an 80-yard scamper late in the first half.

Surely, in the era of style points matter, the committee will penalize Utah when the third set of rankings are released on Tuesday night. The committee chairman said as much last week, noting that one-loss BYU trailed three two-loss teams in the ranking because the Cougars didn’t “look good” in their loss to Texas Tech last month.

Even if it was for only one half, Kansas State dominated Utah’s defense like no other team this season. Texas Tech and BYU, the two teams that beat Utah earlier this season, certainly did not match it.

For the home team’s sake, at least Utah didn’t attach a loss to the shocking defensive performance. Fortunately for them, the Utes averted disaster against a Kansas State that has been muddling through a disappointing season.

In the end, if only the bottom line matters, the Utes won 51-47 with an improbable rally at Rice-Eccles Stadium.  At 6-2 in the Big 12, Utah keeps hope alive to make the conference championship game.

UTES WIN‼️ UTES WIN‼️#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/Ytc6DBhHpj

— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) November 23, 2025

“That one for the ages,” said coach Kyle Whittingham. “Guys like that come along every once in a while.”

If the committee only remembers the stunning comeback, the Utes darned well might jump in the rankings. Maybe style points only count in a loss, meaning all is forgiven with a win.

Who knows for sure? The Utes were too busy celebrating the thrilling win to worry about what some silly committee thinks, anyway.

This win, which senior linebacker Lander Barton sealed with an interception to abort Kansas State’s final drive, was unforgettable. If there’s no championship game or playoff appearance, the game still will go down as the most exciting of the season.

“I was just happy for the boys,” Barton said. “That was a tough one.”

Lander Barton, post-game. You can see how much this means to him and how much he means to his team. pic.twitter.com/2tH6OxOlCX

— Steve Bartle (@BartleKSLsports) November 23, 2025

One thing is for sure: This year’s version of Senior Day will go down as one of the more memorable games in team history. For the Utes, it will be a mix of extreme highs and lows during this game.

“What defense?” was Whittingham’s response to a question during a halftime interview as to why the unit struggled mightily in the first half.

Never criticize him for speaking the truth. The snarky comment was spot on, to the point he legitimately couldn’t have said anything else.

In head-scratching fashion, allowing Kansas State to run wild was inexcusable. Too much was at stake for the Wildcats to rush for 472 yards and put up 574 yards of total offense.

At the same time, with Utah down by three points in the final three minutes, the defense forced a punt without the Wildcats getting a first down to bleed the clock. In the game’s most important possession, the defense looked like it had most of the season, except for a bad fourth quarter against Texas Tech.

As BYU can readily attest to, the committee values style points. The Utes went out of style quickly against the Wildcats, who literally ran up 31 points in the first half.

Yes, it was too much of a struggle to beat a team that is 5-6 and fighting for bowl eligibility. But who cares – the Utes are 9-2 with an outstanding chance to reach double-digit wins for the first time in three seasons and will cherish the win for a long time.

“Just one of those games where stuff happens. You can’t script it,” Whittingham said.

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