This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
For most fans, the game was over with just over a minute left. The plan? Run out the clock.
It wasn't over for Devontae Booker.
He headed to his right, down the sideline for 62 yards as the crowd's roars shook Rice-Eccles Stadium. His first touchdown of the night was the go-ahead score, but his second was purely icing in a 34-18 win over the Sun Devils — the Pac-12 foe who through the years had troubled them like no other.
"Really, I didn't hear nothing," Booker said. "It was like I was running on my own, in a dream."
The dreamlike dash, however, came at the end of a rough game for Utah's top rusher.
The final stat summary will show that Booker earned 118 yards. It won't show how long it took to get them: He ran the ball 21 times, getting more than half his total on that last touch.
For most of the night, Arizona State threw everything they could at him. Against 6-, 7-, and 8-man fronts, even Booker — who has made his name by grinding something out of nothing — often found nothing.
Through three quarters, Booker had 17 net yards on the ground. The team was at negative-21 yards rushing to that point, losing tons of ground on sacks.
"They fill up every gap," Kyle Whittingham said. "They have 8 or 9 man fronts. There's nowhere to run the ball."
But on two key plays, there were creases.
The first was an option toss from Travis Wilson, who held on as long as he could before throwing it in Booker's direction.
The senior running back caught it in space, took off thanks to a block by Harrison Handley, and sped 25 yards for a touchdown before Arizona State's defensive backs could collapse on him. The go-ahead touchdown, with 10:41 left in the game, turned out to be the turnaround play for the Utes.
It sparked a 20-0 run to hammer the Sun Devils. A four-point deficit turned into a blowout by the end, punctuated by Booker's final scamper to the house.
Booker, who has been pushed as a darkhorse candidate for Heisman by the Utes, wasn't the star of the victory. But he delivered the final blows. And he did it with style.
"We expected it was going to be a tough game — that's how their defense is run," said J.J. Dielman, who helped block both scoring runs. "But we knew if we kept chipping in the first quarter, second quarter, third quarter, maybe they'd break. And eventually they did."
Twitter: @kylegoon —
Booker has big fourth quarter
• Senior back held to 17 yards through three quarters
• Scores on 25- and 62-yard touchdowns in the fourth quarter
• Booker finishes with 118 yards, his 11 career 100-yard game
• Booker has 8 rushing touchdowns this season