The Utah defense ruled the day again, helping the Utes beat Oregon State 27-12 on Saturday night.
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Payton averaged 13.4 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 3.1 steals and 1.2 blocked shots, and earned Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year honors.
“You can’t just be kicking field goals in this league”. Opportunities like that must be converted and many more will need to be created. When the Beavers lose by 40 points next week to the quick-offense Bruins, will Mitchell still be singing the same optimistic tune?
There were a few encouraging signs, however. Nick Mitchell completed 9 of 25 passes for 122 yards. The Utes have the No. 3 total defense in the Pac-12 and have faced more traditional veteran quarterbacks the last three games in Cody Kessler, Mike Bercovici and Jared Goff. “Everybody settled down and did the job”.
The Cougars had a 15-3 lead on five field goals by Powell, but the Cardinal rallied behind the running of quarterback Kevin Hogan on a rainy night in Pullman.
“That was a hard situation to walk into”, Andersen said, “and those kids handled it”. “I was impressed with a win – that’s the main objective”. On Thursday, first-year Oregon State head coach Gary Andersen told Mizell he was optimistic. The offense did not.
The Beavers know containing Booker, the third-leading rusher in the conference at 120.7 yards per game, will be a key, but Andersen said the Utes have plenty of weapons. Andersen explained that Barrs-Woods “was truly ready to go” after playing sparingly due to injury last week.
Twice the Beavers settled for field goals after moving into the red zone.
OSU, the last remaining winless team in Pac-12 play, will be aiming for an improbable upset against the South frontrunner and in a game featuring numerous connections, as Beavers coach Gary Andersen, defensive coordinator Kalani Sitake and linebackers coach Ilaisa Tuiaki are former Utah staffers under Whittingham. Schilling gained 2,552 yards from 1969-71.
“We went away (from Booker) too early”, Whittingham said. Quarterback Travis Wilson completed 14 of 17 passes for 198 yards and a touchdown, and his 34th career start set a school record. Devontae Booker rushed for 62 yards in 14 attempts.
Oregon State’s offense has been more a challenge. But I expect a much closer game than that and see Utah winning by two touchdowns. We probably should have thrown the ball more. We started getting stops.
“It felt good to be back with my brothers”, Norris said.
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OSU coaches are coaching their tails off. Working with a roster that is shy on experienced upperclassmen, they are doing their best to help their players succeed, experimenting with schemes on both sides of the ball and ensuring that individual development is happening while keeping morale strong.
