Utes Win A Nail-Biter At Rice-Eccles Stadium
Utah 27, Pittsburgh 24 (OT)
It was billed as one of the top opening games of this year's college football season and the match up between the 24th ranked Utes and the 15th ranked Pittsburgh Panthers did not disappoint.
In a hotly contested game where both teams had the jitters and garnered an extraordinary number of penalties, Utah emerged victorious after holding off a 14 point charge by Pittsburgh in the fourth quarter.
That late surge began when Pitt quarterback Tino Sunseri connected on a 44 yard touchdown pass to receiver Jon Baldwin. The Panthers then made good on a 2 point conversion bringing Pitt within three.
The Utes were unable to run out the clock and Pittsburgh was given one last shot to win the game or send it into overtime.
With just three seconds left in regulation, Dan Hutchins lined up and kicked a perfect 30 yard field goal. The kick was waived off, however, as Ute Coach Kyle Whittingham had called time out immediately prior to the snap. Hutchins made a second attempted field goal, but that one went wide to the left. It would have been the end of the game, but Whittingham had once again called time out prior to the kick. On the third attempt, Hutchins put it through the uprights and sent the game into OT.
After winning the coin toss Utah elected to go on defense.
It proved to be exactly the right call as the Utes' Brian Blenchen picked off a pass by Pitt quarterback Sunseri and carried the ball out of bounds.
Careful not to lose possession, Utah ran the ball six straight times, getting to the Pittsburgh 4-yard line before Joe Phillips was called in to kick the winning field goal from 21 yards out.
The victory extends the Utes' winning streak at home to 18 consecutive games.
Utah quarterback Jordan Wynn threw for 283 yards and three touchdowns, hitting Jereme Brooks for two scores in the second quarter to bring the Utes out of an early seven-point hole.
It was the first game of the college season between two ranked teams and played out before a standing room only crowd.
The Utes win could have national implications as far as the polls go. Pundits say it's likely Utah will crack the top twenty.
