This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
Palo Alto, Calif.
Utah faced third-and-1 at the Stanford 3-yard line in double overtime Saturday, and everybody in Stanford Stadium knew the ball was going to running back Devontae Booker.
And then the play-call was signaled in from the sideline. Ute quarterback Travis Wilson was thrilled.
"I wanted nothing more than that pass play," Wilson said later, grinning.
Ute receiver Kenneth Scott caught Wilson's pass and the Utes celebrated a 20-17 victory that was no less improbable than any of their other three Pac-12 wins this year.
What's the fuss? Wilson always beats Stanford, right?
Well, think about everything that has transpired in his life since mid-October of 2013, when Wilson rode on the shoulders of joyous Ute fans after an upset of the Cardinal at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Injuries ruined the rest of Wilson's season, then he spent much of the winter wondering if an arterial condition would end his career. He returned as the starting quarterback this year, only to be benched twice. Wilson regained the job after Kendal Thompson's season-ending injury in last weekend's loss to Oregon, but then he struggled with the rest of the offense through four quarters of regulation against Stanford.
If the Cardinal had finished a late drive with a winning field goal, Wilson and everybody else associated with Utah's offense would have been blamed for another defeat. Obviously, offensive coordinator Dave Christensen and his players should very thankful for a Nate Orchard-led defense and Tom Hackett's phenomenal punting display for giving them their overtime opportunity.
The fact is, the offense took full advantage of it. Twice.
And that performance fulfilled the words of Scott. As the Cardinal hogged the ball in the fourth quarter, he told Wilson on the sideline, "It's going to fall into your hands … you're going to be the winner of this game."
How did he know? Not much evidence to that point suggested that such an ending was in the works.
"We're not crushing the scoreboard with points," Wilson observed, "but we're finishing games."
True story. Thompson led a drive to a winning field goal at UCLA, Booker scored two OT touchdowns at Oregon State, Wilson hit Kaelin Clay with 8 seconds left against USC and he found Clay for a 25-yard score and then came back with the game-winner to Scott at Stanford.
Someone will have to explain how an offense that produced seven points and 197 total yards in 60 minutes could become unstoppable in overtime — or, from another perspective, how Stanford's defense could suddenly become so vulnerable.
The best available answer is that Stanford's alignment gave the Utes the look they wanted on the first play of OT, and Wilson made a perfect throw to Clay down the sideline. Imagine the nice, tidy ending if Clay's play had stood as the winning score — and, yes, he ran over and handed the football to the official in the end zone, unlike the debacle against Oregon.
Stanford tied the game on its first possession, though, then settled for a field goal in the second OT. That gave Wilson and the Ute offense their ultimate shot at glory. They came through again.
Nobody's saying this offense is cured, that's for sure. Major issues remain to be solved to the extent that's possible this month, and then much more work must be undertaken in the offseason by coach Kyle Whittingham and the offensive staff. Wilson will have to fight for his starting job again next season, assuming Thompson fully recovers from knee surgery.
In this episode, Booker never got going and the passing game was conservative and inconsistent, with Wilson absorbing five sacks.
Yet somehow, with one of the Pac-12's worst offenses, the Utes overcame the conference's best defense. They're 7-3, still nationally ranked, and have clinched a winning record — an achievement that Scott labeled "freakin' awesome, man."
And that's certainly better than any description of Utah's offense in this game, until it really mattered.
Twitter: @tribkurt