This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated.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.

Run. Run. Run. Run. Run. Run. Run. Run. Run. Run. Run. Run.

Such is the description of Utah's first drive — a good one, mind you, that resulted in a 1-yard touchdown for Devontae Booker. A statement, even.

On the next series, Utah went 90 yards in five plays, Travis Wilson hitting Harrison Handley in stride for a 39-yard score. A long night seemed in store for the Oregon State defense.

"We were just executing our plays," said Wilson. "We were going fast and playing with great confidence."

And then, for two quarters, nothing.

Kyle Whittingham said after the game that he was pleased that his offense finished the game with zero turnovers. He was pleased with the way Wilson bounced back after throwing four interceptions against USC. But the consistency was not what he'd hoped for.

Asked to explain the half-game lull, Whittingham said: "It just bogged down. There was nothing different," about Oregon State's approach.

When Utah kicked back into gear in the fourth quarter, it was largely due to two deep shots by Wilson.

The first, a 37-yard pass to Kenneth Scott that set up Wilson's fourth rushing touchdown this season. The second, an in-stride toss to often-seen, rarely heard true freshman Tyrone Smith for 25 yards that gave Utah a needed first down and would lead to a 45-yard field goal from Andy Phillips.

"We probably should have thrown more," Whittingham said. "That seems to be a recurring theme, also, is that we need to throw the ball more, especially to Scotty down the field. Usually good things happen when Scotty gets the ball thrown to him."

Whittingham said it had been the plan to establish the run game early and then play-action pass off the run, and they did both.

Booker, in his fifth 100-yard game of the season, felt the offensive line performed well, especially during the machine-gun run approach early on.

"I think it was just, they couldn't stop me, so why change?" he said.

And in going 14 of 17, Wilson moved into third in school history in career completions, with 582, and total offense, at 7,769 yards.

But Oregon State, even if it has shown marked improvement of late under former Utah defensive coordinator Kalani Sitake, is still a work in progress.

Going forward, Utah may not going to be able to afford many more lulls if it hopes to stay atop the Pac-12 South.

mpiper@sltrib.com Twitter: @matthew_piper —

Utah total offense by game

Michigan • 127 rushing, 210 passing, 337 total

Utah State • 195 rushing, 132 passing, 327 total

at Fresno State • 221 rushing, 159 passing, 380 total

at Oregon • 273 rushing, 257 passing, 530 total

California • 265 rushing, 170 passing, 435 total

Arizona State • 72 rushing, 297 passing, 369 total

at USC • 99 rushing, 254 passing, 352 total

Oregon State • 174 rushing, 198 passing, 372 total