No. 12 Utah holds off No 14 Oklahoma State 22-19 in their Big 12 opener

Brant Kuithe scored two touchdowns and Micah Bernard rushed for 182 yards Saturday as No. 12 Utah opened Big 12 Conference play with an impressive 22-19 win over No. 14 Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Okla.

The Utes (4-0, 1-0) won without starting quarterback Cam Rising, who missed his second straight game with a finger injury. Backup Isaac Wilson completed 17 of 29 passes for 207 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.

Wilson and Kuithe hooked up for a 45-yard scoring strike at the 6:21 mark of the fourth quarter to give Utah a 22-3 lead that looked insurmountable. But the Cowboys (3-1, 0-1) made a game of it as Alan Bowman connected on a 28-yard touchdown pass to Brennan Presley, then a 9-yarder to Rashod Owens with 1:47 left to cut the deficit to three.

However, the Utes were able to kill the remaining time as Bernard moved the chains with a 4-yard run on 3rd-and-3 with 48 seconds on the clock. They owned a 456-285 advantage in total yardage and possessed the ball for more than 42 minutes.

Bowman hit 16 of 33 passes for 206 yards, tossing a pair of interceptions to go along with the two TD passes . Backup Garrett Rangel, who played a good chunk of the second half, was 3 of 11 for 31 yards.

With temperatures soaring to 100 degrees at kickoff, Oklahoma State initiated scoring at the 8:47 mark of the first quarter as Logan Ward toed a 23-yard field goal to cap a 62-yard drive. That was it for the Cowboys’ attack until late in the game.

Utah methodically chewed up yardage and clock for most of the game’s remainder. Cole Becker tied the game with a 43-yard field goal to start the second quarter and Kuithe gave it the lead for good with a 1-yard touchdown plunge with 7:25 left in the half, capping a drive that lasted nearly 6 ½ minutes.

Becker upped the lead to 16-3 by drilling field goals of 38 and 44 yards, the second one coming with 11:29 remaining in the game.

–Field Level Media