Utah vs. Oregon State Livestream: Utah Wins 30-24
It's going to be another late night in Salt Lake City this Saturday when Utah hosts Oregon State in its final home game of the season. Kickoff is set for 8:30 p.m. MT and will be broadcast on ESPN.
After missing the first two games of the year due to COVID-19 related issues, Utah (0-2) is still searching for its first win of the season.
The Utes have losses to USC (33-17) and Washington (24-21), arguably the two toughest teams in the Pac-12. But they also had leads in both of those games (3-0 vs. USC, 21-0 vs. Washington) and the total improvement showed from Week one to Week two was encouraging, albeit still ending in a loss.
Oct 12, 2019; Corvallis, OR, USA; Utah Utes tight end Brant Kuithe (80) catches a pass for a touchdown against Oregon State Beavers defensive back Nahshon Wright (21) during the first half at Reser Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports
Oregon State is coming off its biggest victory in arguably a decade, taking down then-ranked No. 15 Oregon 41-38 at home on Friday night. The Beavers (2-2) are now one win away from bowl eligibility, their first time since 2013.
The Beavers will be down two key starters with quarterback Tristan Gebbia (hamstring) and star running back Jermar Jefferson (COVID-19 protocols) both out. That a huge loss as Jefferson is the nation's No. 2 rusher, averaging 168.8 yards per game.
Nov 27, 2020; Corvallis, Oregon, USA; Oregon State Beavers running back Jermar Jefferson (6) runs the ball against Oregon Ducks defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux (5) during the first half at Reser Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
Kickoff is set for 8:30 p.m. MT and will be broadcast on ESPN. Follow the livestream for updates and analysis. You can also follow @Ryan_Kostecka and @UtahUtes_SI on Twitter for up-to-the-second action.
PREGAME
*Britain Covey is first of the specialists on the field and moving around... fast. That's a great sign moving forward
*Oregon State QB Chance Nolan, starting in place of Gebbia, was the nation's No. 1 JC dual-threat quarterback in the country.
*WR Bryan Thompson, who was to be a game time decision, is going through warmups and looks as if he's going to give it a try
*First rep on offense in warmups as Utah is starting Enis, Vele and Covey at WR, Jordan at RB and Fotheringham at TE
*Interesting, there's not sign of Kuithe going through warmups with the team drills...
*With Umana dealing with an injury, the Utes will be going with the same starting OL group as last week...
LT - Moala / LG - Bills / C - Ford / RG - Kump / RT - Luamea
*Oregon State has won the toss and deferred to the second half. Utah will receive to start the game...
FIRST QUARTER
*Utah will begin the game with the ball at its own 25
*Ty Jordan getting the start at RB for the Utes, has 17 yards on two carries to start the game
*BRITAIN COVEY IS BACK! A phenomanl route where he broke off an OSU DB resulted in a 24-yard catch and run. Utes ball at OSU 29 and driving early
*Bentley with an atrocious throw to a wide open Kuithe that would've been a sure touchdown... Utes forced to settled for a 33-yard FG attempt...
Utah 3 — Oregon State 0
10:21 left 1Q
Scoring Drive: 9 plays, 60 yards in 4:39
Jordan gets the majority of the touches but a 24-yard catch and run by Covey was the highlight early on
*Interesting, Bentley is being attended to by trainers after that opening drive...
*JUCO transfer Jeremy Mercier was down of the field following that kickoff coverage… didn’t look good
*Oregon State will begin its first drive at its own 20
*With no Jefferson, Nolan drops back to throw on first down before he scrambles 10 yards on the first play. Kid can run, that's for sure
*Vonte Davis INTERCEPTION!!! He picks off a Nolan pass and returns it down to the OSU 10 yard line — that’s his second pick in two games
*Another bad read/throw by Bentley. He was staring down his TE who was open but held the ball to long, and it fell incomplete in 3rd-and-3… Utes forced to settle for another FG
Utah 6 — Oregon State 0
6:50 left 1Q
Scoring Drive: 4 plays, 8 yards in 1:31
Utes only get three after the INT, as Redding nails his second FG of the game
*Frustrating but Bentley had a RB, WR and TE all open for touchdowns but he held the ball to long and instead threw into coverage in the back of the endzone on third down. Needs to be more decisive with the ball in his hand
*Beavers will begin their second drive at their own 24
*Devin Lloyd is so fast that I swear it was a Utah DB who made the tackle on the sweep play. That’s extremely impressive for a man of his size
*Not sure what happened there but DE Maxs Tupai was running with an OSU TE who dropped a for-sure touchdown. Have to imagine that’s not what Scalley was drawing up defensively
*Utah gets the stop on third down and forces a 50-yard FG attempt by the Beavers... which has plenty of leg but is pushed left.
*Utes take over at own 31 late in the first quarter
*Jordan promptly rips off a 19-yard carry on first down — have to imagine the RB job is now his after his performance thus far (fumbles excluded)
*Kuithe sighting as Bentley hits him for 13 yards to put the ball into OSU territory
Utah 6 — Oregon State 0
END OF 1Q
Utes forced to settle for a pair of FG’s after two drives stall in the redzone. Bentley missed some TD passes on both drives. Davis with an INT to pace the defense
Utah vs. Oregon State — First Quarter Stats
SECOND QUARTER
*Utah will face 1st-and-10 form the Oregon State 26 to begin the quarter
*Nice for Utah to be up 6-0 and driving, but should be 14-0 right now. I get that Bentley went 19-14 in 3 years at South Carolina, but he hasn’t shown much in his first 3 games as a Ute. He needs to be better if this offense is going to take off
*Utah going with a steady dose of Jordan and Kuithe to get the ball down the field. Oregon State defense already on its heels early in the 2Q
*AGAIN!!! Bentley misses a wide open Kuithe in the corner of the end zone. Kuithe appeared to let out a massive yell after the overthrow...
Utah 9 — Oregon State 0
12:27 left 2Q
Scoring Drive: 11 plays, 60 yards in 5:12
Kuithe and Jordan do a lot of damage but once again, Bentley misses another wide open TD. Redding with his third FG, this time on a 27-yarder
*It’s becoming very clear why Utah named Rising the starter so quickly into fall camp…
*Oregon State will start with the ball at its own 31 after a solid return
*OSU backup QB Jack Coletto with a 40-yard rush in third-and-one to put the ball just outside the red zone
*Utah's defense stiffens in the red zone and forces a 33-yard FG attempt, which is good.
Utah 9 — Oregon State 3
9:16 left 2Q
Scoring Drive: 7 plays, 54 yards in 3:05
After giving up a long rush, the Utes defense tightens up and forces a 33-yard field goal
*Utah will take over at its own 25 nursing a one-score lead midway through the quarter
*Ty Jordan has some unreal burst and explosiveness for his his size. He loves contact but just ran away from some OSU defensive backs for a 31-yard rush
*Bentley with his best pass of the game, a 15-yard completion to Kuithe that hit him in stride for the first down
*Kuithe with 5 catches for 52 yards on 7 targets midway through the 2Q. Assuming Ludwig made it a priority to get him involved early in this one
*Utes stuffed on second and third down, now faced with a 4th-and-goal from the 1… Whittingham is going to go for it after the timeout…
*TOUCHDOWN TY JORDAN… he scores on the 1-yard run
Utah 16 — Oregon State 3
3:10 left 2Q
Scoring Drive: 10 plays, 75 yards in 6:06
Bentley really settled in that drive and found Kuithe multiple times. But Jordan continues to damage and finally gets the TD
*Should be noted how, despite costly fumbles in back-to-back games, Whittingham trusted Jordan with the ball in his hand on 4th-and-goal from the 1...
*Oregon State will begin the drive at their own 25
*Interesting, Beavers come out throwing on first two plays. Both incompletions to stop the clock. But a personal foul on Nephi Sewell gave Oregon State new life
*The penalty has proved costly as Oregon State has the ball at the Utah 24 with 1:44 left on the clock
*Another personal foul on Utah, giving Oregon State the ball at the Utah 12 with 1:37 left in the half
*Big play upcoming as the Beavers have a 3rd-and-12 from the Utah 14. Utes can get a stop and force another FG would be huge
*Utah gets the stop but officials call targeting on Malone Mataele — will review the call
*Strongly disagree with the call by officials… But hey, these are Pac-12 officials in a #Pac12AfterDark game. So you know they upheld the call… Mataele has been ejected…
*Oregon State gets a fresh set of downs, ball at the 1 with 55 seconds to play in the half
Utah 16 — Oregon State 10
:50 left 2Q
Scoring Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards in 2:20
Utes gave that TD to the Beavers as three personal foul penalties proved costly
*Utah has the ball at the 25 and will throw on first down.... Bentley to Covey
*Utah driving here at the end of the half, have the ball up to the 44 with 30 seconds left
*FWIW, Bentley has looked a lot calmer and more confident these past two drives. Calmly avoided a sack and delivered a strike that was off the hands of Jordan. Type of play he might’ve turned it over on the past two weeks…
*Bentley hits Covey in 3rd-and-10 for a 16-yard gain but he was tackled with no time on the clock, despite Utah trying to call a TO
*Interesting first half has come to an end...
Utah 16 — Oregon State10
HALFTIME
Utah struggling in the red zone by settling for 3 FG’s, but they still lead after a breakout first half by Ty Jordan
Utah vs. Oregon State — Halftime Stats
HALFTIME
*Jordan was electric in the opening half, accounting for 103 total yards on 12 touches with a touchdown
*The offense really started to gel when Bentley calmed down and settled in. Kuithe has 6 catches for 65 yards, Covey with 5 touches for 53 yards — greta production out of your stars in the opening half
*Defense has played well except for that last drive where 3 personal foul penalties proved very costly. Winning the turnover battle is huge though
*On offense, Utes are close to 50-50 with 20 rushes (112 yards) and 19 passes (141 yards)
*It's not a 21-point lead but I'll be curious how the Utes come out on their first drives on both sides of the ball. Last week Washington marched right down for a score... can't let Oregon State do that
*Game could easily be 28-3 if not for self-inflicted wounds. Bentley missed on THREE touchdown passes, and three personal fouls essentially allowed the Beavers their TD. Wonder what Whitt and co. are saying in the ‘locker room’
THIRD QUARTER
*Oregon State will begin with the ball at their own 22...
*Utah is able to force a three-and-out on defense — exactly what you didn't see last week. Good job by the Utes after OSU scored on its final possession of the first half
*Great punt by the Beavers and Utah will take over at its own 11...
*Bentley avoids the sack, somehow doesn’t get tackled and picks up the first down on 3rd-and-3. Utes ball at own 34
*Jordan continues to just eat up chunks of yards, now averaging 7.4 yards per carry for his first 100-yard game of his career...
*Methodical drive here by the Utes. Despite being under pressure, Bentley is avoiding the rush and making his check downs count... is this an actual sign of growth?
*TOUCHDOWN BRITAIN COVEY!!!
Utah 23 — Oregon State 10
6:22 left 3Q
Scoring Drive: 14 plays, 89 yards in 7:45
Methodical drive by the Utes as a mixture of runs/throws, big plays/checkdowns resulted in the Covey 8-yard TD catch
*That was easily Utah's best drive of the season. Methodical is the only way to say it, and Bentley was cool and calm under pressure. Seems to be finding a nice rhythm the last quarter or so...
*Oregon State will begin with the ball at its own 30
*This may not come as a surprise to Utah fans but Covey is still a game-changer. After the knee injury in 2018, missing 2019 and hamstring to start this season, Covey’s resilience and talent is impressive...
*Utes get another stop on defense and force an Oregon State punt. Unit is flying around and making plays everywhere.
*Utah takes over at own 20 with 4:42 remaining in the 3Q. A touchdown here and we might be able to go home before midnight...
*Utah still attacking instead of settling for running the ball. Bentley to Kuithe makes it third-and-1 — semi big play upcoming
*And the Utes pick it up on a Jake Bentley QB sneak. Finally, a QB sneak I agree with…
*Obviously Jordan has been sensational. But all that flack the Utah OL was catching the past two weeks is gone. They’re physically dominating this Oregon State defensive front
*Earlier this year, Kuithe was getting balls towards the sidelines where he couldn't do much with it. Now he's getting so many catches on crossing routes where he can use his athleticism, and it's showing
*Drive stalls at midfield and the Utes are forced to punt. Took off a chunk of time though and was able to flip the field. Beavers take over at own 10 with under a minute left
Utah 23 — Oregon State 10
END OF THIRD QUARTER
Utah not letting the Beavers back into this one, but Oregon State has the ball to start the fourth
Utah vs. Oregon State — Stats through 3Q
FOURTH QUARTER
*Oregon State has the ball at its own 21 with a 3rd-and-9 upcoming...
*And the Utes sniff out the screen attempt and force an incomplete pass. OSU punt with Covey back to receive...
*TOUCHDOWN BRITAIN COVEY!!! Covey takes the punt back for a score!!!
Utah 30 — Oregon State 10
14:37 left 4Q
Covey showing off at this point with a dynamic punt return for a 64-yard touchdown
*A healthy Covey might be Utah's most dangerous weapon. Can't help but imagine what the Utes record might look like if he was healthy for the opener...
*Following the unsportsmanlike like penalty on Utah, Oregon State begins the drive at its own 35
*Not all is perfect for the Utes as the Beavers have run for over 150 yards tonight against the nation’s No. 7 rush defense who came in giving up an average of 90.4 yards per game
*Devin Lloyd with the strip sack but Oregon State somehow recovers at the Utah 35
*Oregon State then picks up a first down on a 28-yard pass to Calvin Tyler, who was working against Clark Phillips out of the slot. Ball at Utah 6...
*Touchdown Oregon State on a 6-yard toss to Tyler
Utah 30 — Oregon State 17
11:50 left 4Q
Scoring Drive: 8 plays, 65 yards in 2:41
Utah couldn't recover the strip sack by Lloyd and Oregon State scores two plays later... it's not over yet...
*Utah needs a good drive here to ice the game. A touchdown wins it while a FG puts the pressure on the Beavers. Curious to see the sort of play-calling as this is where the Utes have struggled in the past...
*Oregon State goes with the surprise onside kick and the Beavers have it at midfield — but the play is under review as Oregon State may have touched the ball early...
*Pac-12 officials botch another call, Oregon State ball at midfield…
*Huge sack on second down by Hauati Pututau makes it 3rd-and-27 — Utes end up forcing a punt so no harm done...
*Utah will take over at own 20 with 9:54 to play…
*Huge series upcoming. Utes don’t necessarily need a score, but need to burn some clock and flip the field. Lets see how aggressive Ludwig gets here…
*Back-to-back runs makes 3rd-and-half a yard… and Jordan is stopped short — Utah punt upcoming...
*That was not what you wanted to see if you're a Utah fan... some things never change with Utah leading in the fourth quarter...
*Oregon State takes over at its own 39 with 7:18 to play. Utes need a stop on defense
*Oregon State driving, now have the ball at the Utah 34 with just under 6 to go… Previous play is under review as the Beavers fumbled, recovered and ran for an extra 7 yards. He appeared to be down before the fumble
*Runner was down, 4th-and-3 for Oregon State from Utah 42 upcoming...
*Beavers convert the first down, ball at Utah 31 with 5:34 remaining
*4th-and-10 upcoming for Oregon State. Utah gets a stop here and that should be the game…
*Utes get the massive stop, but a holding penalty on gives the Beavers the first down...
*Touchdown Oregon State as Nolan’s ball goes through THREE Utah defenders…
Utah 30 — Oregon State 24
5:07 left 4Q
Scoring Drive: 9 plays, 61 yards in 2:11
Utes continue to hurt themselves with penalties before a miraculous touchdown makes this a one-score game
*Well, this is where Ludwig earns his paycheck. He needs to dial up a special drive right now to allow the Utes to run out the clock. If not, I don’t know how much this defense has left in them…
*Weird kick results in Utah getting the ball at its own 48
*3rd-and-1 upcoming for the Utes... here we go...
*And after picking up 9 on first down, the Utes are stuffed on the next two plays… 4th-and-1 upcoming from OSU 43 with 2:53 to play…
*Whittingham goes for it, another handoff to Jordan and he’s short… Oregon State takes over at own 43 with 2:47 to play and a chance to win it…
*Like I've said before, Utah flat out refuses to win games… The play-calling on the last two drives has been atrocious and frustrating to say the least. IDK what/who needs to change, but something does regardless of the outcome tonight...
*Personal foul penalty on Tafua and the Beavers have the ball at the Utah 40 with 2:32 to play...
*Pac-12 officials miss a clear intentional grounding penalty, giving the Beavers more hope
*HUGE STOP BY THE DEFENSE!!! Beavers go for it on 4th-and-1 and the Utes stuff the run. Utah ball at own 32 with 1:40 remaining. One first down and this game is over...
*Ever since leading 30-17 early in the fourth quarter, Utah has run 9 plays… ALL OF THEM RUNS. And they have yet to pick up the one first down that would make a difference. This is just brutal…
*Bentley drops back to throw on 3rd-and-6, and is hit while the ball falls incomplete. Utah forced to punt while preserving an Oregon State timeout — you can't make this sort of stuff up, folks...
*Oregon State ball at own 25 with 1:16 to play and a timeout. Utes need one more stop to put this game away…
*Oregon State ball at Utah 38 with 47 seconds to play…
*HUGE SACK BY TAFUA… forcing Oregon State to call final TO. 3rd-and-15 from Utah 43 upcoming for the Beavers with 34 seconds to play
*4th-and-8 upcoming… this is the game…
*INCOMPLETE PASS.. no flags... Utah will escape with its first win of the season in ugly fashion
Utah 30 — Oregon State 24
FINAL
Utah earns its first win of the season by holding off an Oregon State fourth quarter rally. It wasn’t pretty, but a win is a win…
Utah vs. Oregon State — Final Stats
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