This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated.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's offense produced the game-winning touchdown against Stanford, but that play hardly overshadowed any of the work done by the Ute defense and punter Tom Hackett.
The defense allowed only an opening-drive touchdown in regulation, then forced a field-goal attempt in the second overtime with a third-down stop that made Utah's 20-17 victory possible Saturday at Stanford Stadium.
Hackett was Utah's special-teams star, with Andy Phillips not attempting any field goals and Kaelin Clay unable to make any big plays in the return game. Hackett punted nine times for a 44.7-yard average, which only begins to tell his story.
Five of his punts forced Stanford to take possession inside its 10-yard line. The Cardinal never scored on any of those drives, despite some advancement, so Hackett clearly played a major role in the defense's success.
Ute coach Kyle Whittingham was especially pleased that Stanford star Ty Montgomery was held to 1 yard on his only punt return.
Utah end Nate Orchard led the defense with 10 tackles, including 3.5 sacks. That pushed his total to 16.5 sacks — breaking Utah's season record with three games remaining, including a bowl appearance.
Orchard's biggest play was a sack of quarterback Kevin Hogan on Stanford's first play of its second overtime possession. The Cardinal kicked a field goal, enabling Utah to win the game with a touchdown.
In the second quarter, with Stanford leading 7-0 and driving, Orchard forced a Cardinal receiver to fumble and Ute cornerback Eric Rowe recovered the ball.
Stanford coach David Shaw was not asked specifically about Utah's defense in his postgame news conference, but he did not bring up the subject either. Shaw criticized himself and his offense for "just as sloppy a game as we've had this year."
The Cardinal posted 294 total yards, counting overtime, and almost got into position for a field-goal attempt in the last two minutes of regulation. Ute defensive backs Brian Blechen and Justin Thomas held Christian McCaffrey to a 4-yard gain on a third-and-11 play from the Utah 38. Shaw chose to punt rather than try a 51-yard field goal.
Stanford got the ball back with 34 seconds left and nearly completed a long pass into field-goal range, but Rowe broke up the play, sending the game into overtime.
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