He just wondered what took the official so long to make it. After Utah trimmed Oregon State's lead to 28-26 with 1:29 remaining, it looked like the Beavers had stopped the Utes' attempt to tie when quarterback Brian Johnson's pass sailed past David Reed in the end zone. The closest official to the play signaled incomplete. But another ran in and called interference because linebacker Bryant Cornell collided with Reed, who stopped his route when the wind blew the ball behind him.

"I saw one official call incomplete," Riley said. "Then I saw the flag about a half hour later."

Given a second chance, Johnson ran for the tying two-point conversion. Then, Utah's defense held and the Utes won on Louis Sakoda's 37-yard field goal on the final play.

"I think it was a terrific game," Riley said. "I'm really proud of our team, how they played. We made a lot of mistakes. But we tried to overcome them with a lot of effort and a lot of good play and I'm proud of that. . . . I'm really disappointed in the loss. I think this could have been a fantastic win, but I give them a lot of credit. I thought they played real well."

OSU took a 28-20 lead with 2:18 left, but the Beavers knew Utah still had ample time to rally.

"No question," Riley said, "[especially] because the wind had come up so badly. I knew it was going to be good field position for them right off the bat."

Trailing by eight, the Utes took over at their own 40 and quickly shredded the Oregon State defense.

"I think they made some plays," Riley said. "We had some guys who had been in good position all night who were a little out of position - a little beat. And I thought their guy made a couple of great throws in a row. . . . There were a lot of little plays that could have had us out of harms way at the end. But we weren't and they capitalized."

How Oregon State's offense fared in its win over then-No. 1 ranked USC last week, compared how it performed in its loss against Utah:

Pts FDs Rush Pass Yrd

vs. USC 27 22 176 167 343

at Utah 28 20 92 313 405