This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
One yard.
One monumental victory.
Naturally, after everything that has unfolded during Utah's football season and everything that happened in this game, the biggest win of the Utes' Pac-12 era was delivered by their original starting quarterback — on a play that began 1 yard from USC's end zone.
Travis Wilson's wonderful impression of Kendal Thompson, via a long scramble that eventually led to his 1-yard touchdown pass to Kaelin Clay with 8 seconds remaining, produced Utah's 24-21 victory Saturday night at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
The winning play came after Utah lost two fumbles at the USC 1-yard line during the game, and was made possible only after the Ute defense made a fourth-down stop 1 yard short of the first-down marker.
This was remarkable stuff. The closing sequence was a lot like Brian Johnson's game-winning drive against TCU that preserved Utah's unbeaten season in 2008, and it came after Wilson has endured so much in the past year.
From having his career threatened last winter to losing his starting job this month, Wilson has persevered through it all. And then he led the winning 73-yard drive in the last two minutes, after the Utes barely succeeded in keeping USC from running out the clock. Coincidentally enough, the game lasted longer than 60 minutes, as the clock barely started during USC's 100-yard kickoff return in the second quarter.
All night, amid all kinds of crazy stuff like that, you just knew this game was going to come down to the very end.
Of course, the Utes were going to win. They scored a defensive touchdown on the second play from scrimmage, took a 17-14 lead into the fourth quarter and defensive coordinator Kalani Sitake made some remarkable adjustments after his group struggled early in the game.
Of course, the Utes were destined to lose. They lost those two fumbles at the USC goal line, their phenomenal special teams gave up a kickoff-return touchdown and they fell behind in the fourth quarter.
But then, with USC in position to finish the game with an epic, seven-minute drive, receiver Nelson Agholor turned the corner after taking a pitch on a fourth-down play and stepped out of bounds 1 yard short of the first-down marker at the Utah 27. The Utes had one last chance.
Wilson steadily drove them down the field with four completions, then scrambled for 18 yards to the USC 1. After Devontae Booker was stuffed on first down, Utah took its last timeout. Wilson rolled out and hit Clay for the victory.
The entire sequence of events fit nicely into Utah's history of "Blackout" games, which have featured all kinds of unusual occurrences — including that legendary win over TCU. Last October, Wilson threw six interceptions, yet the Utes just missed a chance to upset UCLA.
Much more was at stake Saturday, with both teams claiming top-20 rankings and fighting to stay in Pac-12 South title contention in front of a school-record crowd of 47,619.
This setting was a wish fulfilled for anyone who pictured the Utes playing meaningful, high-profile games in the Pac-12. In their fourth season of membership, the Utes have arrived at point when they matter in this conference.
The Utes took a 17-14 lead into the fourth quarter, having overcome the horror of losing two fumbles at the USC 1-yard line.
Booker's 24-yard touchdown run sent the Utes ahead, but then USC answered with Cody Kessler's 4-yard TD pass to Darreus Rogers to open the fourth quarter. The Trojans had netted only 44 yards in the middle two quarters of the game, but produced a 73-yard, go-ahead drive.
The first half was filled with weird stuff, from a touchdown that looked like a slow-motion play and and another score that apparently fast-forwarded.
Utah cornerback Davion Orphey scooped up the ball after Kessler's pass on the Trojans' second scrimmage play was ruled a lateral. Orphey returned the fumble 53 yards for a touchdown, as a couple of dozen players stood around and only Kessler chased him toward the end zone.
Midway through the second quarter, USC's Adoree Jackson returned a kickoff out of the end zone. Officially credited with a 100-yard runback, by college rules, Jackson covered the distance in 2 seconds, according to the scoreboard clock.
Ultimately, the Utes needed the extra time the scoreboard operator provided in that sequence. Amazing, how everything worked out in this game, after all of the twists and turns.
Fans flooded the field in celebration, even while knowing that this may turn out to be the third-biggest game in the stadium this season. Oregon comes to town Nov. 8, followed two weeks later by Arizona in a potential Pac-12 South title matchup.
Twitter: @tribkurt