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After Troy Williams' last pass had been thrown incomplete on Saturday, and Utah was on the short end of a 31-24 count to Washington's Huskies, as Utes receivers coach Guy Holliday walked off the field at Rice-Eccles, he shook his head and said what all the Utes would go on to think or say: "They made one more play than we did."

Williams said it.

Kyle Whittingham said it.

A couple others repeated it.

With the game tied at 24 and a bit more than three minutes left, a Mitch Wishnowsky punt was caught and returned for a 58-yard touchdown by Husky Dante Pettis. That was the difference in a riveting game worthy of its huge buildup.

And if these two teams are to meet again in five weeks at the Pac-12's championship game , we can only hope it will offer what Saturday's game did: a little of everything.

"That's the plan," said Williams. "Win out and play them again."

He added: "It was a great game."

And he was right.

Let's start this, then, with some highfalutin thinking and end it with acknowledgment of that great football.

It's a nuanced differentiation, but contrary to the sports cliché, destiny cannot be controlled. It isn't written in advance, it just … is. It is what it is. As though it were being looked at in the past tense. If that is true, and it is, Utah mostly held up its end of the deal in the present, riding its respectable course with great resolve, great resilience, if not great results.

Saturday's beautiful reward for the victor was more a matter of pride than it was anything conclusive. As mentioned, Utah will have its chance to meet and beat Washington for the Pac-12 title and a berth in the Rose Bowl — if it handles its business in the South in the coming weeks: a game at Arizona State, a match with Oregon at home, and a biggie at Colorado.

The Utes lost their chance at greater pride here, their chance to prove their league superiority by beating the undefeated and fourth-ranked Huskies, but they certainly advanced their standing in the minds of those who watched them play. Anybody who didn't believe Utah is a legitimate force in the Pac-12 before this outcome must reconsider his doubts now. If the Utes learn their proper lessons, maybe next time …

Familiar themes arose, namely the same resilience Utah has displayed all season. "Tough game," Whittingham said. " … They beat us, but I'm proud of the way our guys hung in there. [We] handle adversity very well."

There were chances for the Utes to fade and fold against Washington. The Huskies went up 14-zip on the talents of quarterback Jake Browning and running back Myles Gaskin. Browning is one of the nation's top-rated QBs and Gaskin will one day make a lot of money running in the NFL. With his assortment of jab-steps and spin moves, he looks like freaking Barry Sanders. The sophomore hurt the Utes, gaining 151 yards on just 19 carries, averaging 7.9 per rush.

Huskies coach Chris Petersen's offense is creative and crafty, loaded up with personnel at the skill positions, tough up front, and bolstered by multiple looks and shifts, and sprinkled with plays such as the double pass that led to one of Washington's touchdowns.

But Utah came back with 17 unanswered points.

Former Husky Troy Williams made some nice plays and threw for two touchdowns, but running back Joe Williams for the third consecutive week was the Utes' real star. He rushed 35 times for 172 yards. It's amazing. Williams was absent from the team for a month. He supposedly had retired from football, on account of him being "overwhelmed" by the game, turning instead toward the rest of his life.

I have a different theory. Here's what really happened: He ducked under cover into a secret bionic lab hidden in the desert, where mad scientists took him apart and rebuilt him.

OK, that's a lie. But if he himself hasn't been rebuilt, his game has. He now has gained 683 yards in the past three weeks. He repeatedly burst through holes and busted off tough yards against the best defense in the Pac-12.

After falling behind 17-14, Washington bounced back — largely on the legs of Gaskin — to score a touchdown. Then, it got a field goal. The Utes tied it at 24 on a 24-yard TD throw from Williams to Evan Moeai early in the fourth.

That's the way it stayed until … well, you know what.

Two basic things were learned on Saturday: 1) The Huskies are really good, worthy of their 8-0 record and high ranking; and 2) The Utes are right there with them, one play away.

That doesn't excuse the loss, or balm the loss. It just explains it.

"It sucks," left guard Isaac Asiata said.

Luckily for him and everybody else, we could get that do-over, or at least a do-again. These same teams in that championship game. That's Troy Williams' plan. That's Whittingham's plan.

Is it their destiny? It will be if it happens.

And if it does, it will be everyone else's good fortune to watch it.

GORDON MONSON hosts "The Big Show" with Spence Checketts weekdays from 3-7 p.m. on the Zone Sports Network, 97.5 FM and 1280 AM. Twitter: @GordonMonson.