Utah Struggles In Second Half, Loses First Pac-12 Game To Oregon State
Oct 23, 2021, 8:55 PM | Updated: 9:08 pm
Utah Utes QB Cameron Rising (7) scrambles in the open field for a gain during a PAC-12 conference football game between the Utah Utes and Oregon State Beavers on October 23, 2021 at Reser Stadium in Corvallis, Oregon. (Photo by Brian Murphy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
(Photo by Brian Murphy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CORVALLIS, Ore. – The Utah Utes fell on the road to the Oregon State after allowing the Beavers to outscore them 28-7 in the second half.
The Beavers hosted the Utes at Reser Stadium in Corvallis, Oregon on Saturday, October 23.
Oregon State beat Utah, 42-34.
The result was Utah’s first loss in conference play this season.
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Utes Score Points Consistently In First Half
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Utah kept their touchdown trend going from the second half of the ASU game into the first half against Oregon State by scoring TD’s on their first two drives. The first possession was a 14-yard catch by Micah Bernard. Utah went up 14-0 after Rising found Brant Kuithe wide open for an 11-yard TD.
The Utes held their own defensively as they tried shutting down the Oregon State rushing attack. The Beavers found the end zone first the first time on a 14-yard TD run by Anthony Gould. Jordan Noyes made a 29-yard field goal to put the Utes back up by 10 midway through the second quarter.
Oregon State countered by getting to the one-yard line on a 68-yard run by B.J. Baylor. The Beavers found the end zone on the next play with a pass from Nolan to Jack Colletto. Utah made sure that Oregon State didn’t get any momentum going into halftime after capitalizing on a key turnover.
Feed the big man! 🍴
B.J. Baylor's explosive 68-yard run is the 2nd longest of the @BeaverFootball RB’s career.
📺 Pac-12 Network
📱 https://t.co/PU19brOSGx#GoBeavs | #Pac12FB pic.twitter.com/hhIzJcwn1f— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) October 24, 2021
Nolan was out of the pocket when Utah safety Brandon McKinney punched the ball out. As the ball was traveling out of bounds, Junior Tafuna caught it and got a foot inbounds just in time to get the turnover. Utah took over at the OSU 20-yard line. That drive finished with Tavion Thomas’ first touchdown run of the night to give the Utes a 24-14 halftime lead.
UTAH FOOTBALL!
📺 PAC-12 Network
📱https://t.co/FeSt1Hz40U pic.twitter.com/JbM7w027QM— Utah Athletics (@utahathletics) October 24, 2021
Oregon State came out of the locker room firing on all cylinders as they scored an 11-yard touchdown with Nolan finding Trevon Bradford to cut the deficit to 24-21 early in the third. On Utah’s next possession, they were set to punt when Cameron Peasley’s punt was blocked and returned for a 27-yard touchdown to give the Beavers their first lead of the night, 28-24.
THE BLOCK. THE SCOOP. THE SCORE. 💥
📺 Pac-12 Network
📱 https://t.co/PU19brOSGx#GoBeavs | @BeaverFootball | #Pac12FB pic.twitter.com/qPsTNKEDIc— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) October 24, 2021
On Utah’s next drive, Oregon State lost their best defensive player Jaydon Grant to targeting. That kept the Utes’ drive alive and Thomas ran in his second TD of the night to give Utah the lead back, 31-28 with 5:01 left in the third.
Near the end of the third quarter, Bradford found the end zone on the ground from 10-yards out and Oregon State took a 35-31 lead. The Utes lost Devin Lloyd for the rest of the game and the first half of next week’s matchup against UCLA due to a targeting call.
The Beavers stretched their lead to 42-31 on a B.J. Baylor touchdown run with under 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter.
With six minutes remaining, Utah was able to drive into scoring territory before turning the ball over on downs for the second time.
.@kinnggalex said nope. 😤
📺 Pac-12 Network
📱 https://t.co/PU19brOSGx#GoBeavs | @BeaverFootball | #Pac12FBpic.twitter.com/tib545VooW— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) October 24, 2021
The Utes forced the Beavers to turn the ball over on downs with under four minutes to play.
With 2:38 to go, the Utes made it a one-score game, 42-34, with a field goal.
Utah was unable to recover the ensuing onside kick and Oregon State knelt the ball to run out the clock.
With the loss, the Utes fell to a record of 4-3 this season, including 3-1 in Pac-12 games.
Trevor Allen is a Utah Utes Insider for sports.ksl.com, Co-Host of Faith, Family and Football podcast with Clark Phillips III and host of the Crimson Corner podcast. Follow him on Twitter: @TrevorASports.
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