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11/28 15:02 CST No. 14 Utah rallies to beat Kansas 31-21 and keep its slim Big
12 championship hopes alive
No. 14 Utah rallies to beat Kansas 31-21 and keep its slim Big 12 championship
hopes alive
By DAVE SKRETTA
AP Sports Writer
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) --- Devon Dampier threw for 253 yards and three touchdowns,
Elijah Davis returned an interception 97 yards for another score, and No. 14
Utah came from behind to beat Kansas 31-21 on Friday and keep its slim Big 12
championship hopes alive.
Larry Simmons caught two TD passes, Wayshon Parker ran for 95 yards and Utah
(10-2, 7-2, No. 13 CFP) picked off Jalon Daniels three times in the final game
of his college career, helping the Utes reach the 10-win mark for the third
time in the last five years.
More importantly, the Utes can still play for a conference title. They need
Arizona State to beat Arizona on Friday night, then Texas Tech to lose to West
Virginia and BYU to beat UCF on Saturday --- a long-shot scenario, to be sure,
but a reason to turn on TVs.
"We hope 10-2 gets us to what we want to do, but from my standpoint, we were
not happy with how last season went," said Dampier, who transferred in from New
Mexico after the Utes had finished 5-7 in their first season in the Big 12.
"Just happy it all came together," he said. "We finished strong, and it was all
that work we put in."
Utah won despite allowing 290 yards rushing, one week after beating Kansas
State after allowing 472 on the ground.
"It took a while to get going, and really get into a rhythm. We started to get
some things going in the second half," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. "We
kept finding ways to make plays, stay in the game, and that's kind of the way
it went in the end."
Daniels finished with 187 yards passing and a touchdown, and also rushed for a
TD, though his turnovers led to a smattering of boos from Kansas fans, many of
whom have endured the QB's highs and lows over the past six seasons.
Daniel Hishaw Jr. had 107 yards rushing and a touchdown for the Jayhawks (5-7,
3-6). Leshon Williams ran for 104.
"Obviously as a team we didn't play well enough to win the football game,"
Kansas coach Lance Leipold said.
Utah looked as if it might turn Senior Day into a rout in the opening minutes,
but the Kansas defense --- which had let Leipold's team down so often this
season --- finally seemed to find its fight. The Jayhawks bottled up the Utes,
who had been averaging 279.6 yards on the ground, and early on Dampier was
having little success through the air, twice misfiring on fourth-down attempts.
Utah led just 10-7 at halftime in a game it desperately needed to win.
The Jayhawks briefly pulled ahead after the break, when Whittingham went for it
on fourth down rather than kick a field goal on a cold, blustery day. Kansas
made a stop, drove 67 yards, and Daniels' scoring sneak gave them a 14-10
advantage.
But the momentum swung for good on his two red-zone blunders early in the
fourth quarter.
First, Daniels was picked off while trying to throw the ball out of the end
zone, and Utah needed just four plays to go 80 yards for a go-ahead touchdown.
Then, after Kansas marched downfield again, Daniels was picked off by Davis
near the goal line, and the junior cornerback returned it 97 yards to give the
Utes a 24-14 lead with 7:52 remaining.
Utah wound up scoring 21 points in the fourth quarter to put the game away.
"We had two little hiccups throughout the season, but I'm really proud of how
our guys have played, bouncing back from adversity, whether it's after a loss
or in game," Utah safety Jackson Bennee said. "It's been a good season. We'll
see what happens."
The takeaway Utah only ran for 164 yards but finished with 417 in total offense, and that was enough to make Kansas pay for its mistakes. Kansas started the season 4-2 before a loss to Texas Tech. It wound up losing five of its last six games.
Up next Utah watches how the Big 12 race plays out on Saturday. Kansas watches bowl season on TV for the second straight year. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News app). AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
The takeaway Utah only ran for 164 yards but finished with 417 in total offense, and that was enough to make Kansas pay for its mistakes. Kansas started the season 4-2 before a loss to Texas Tech. It wound up losing five of its last six games.
Up next Utah watches how the Big 12 race plays out on Saturday. Kansas watches bowl season on TV for the second straight year. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News app). AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
