STILLWATER, Oklahoma, Sept. 21, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — Micah Bernard rushed for a career-high 182 yards and Brant Kuithe scored two touchdowns as the 12th-ranked University of Utah held off a late rally to defeat No. 14 Oklahoma State 22-19 Saturday in its Big 12 Conference debut.
Utah (4-0 overall, 1-0 Big 12) led 22-3 following Kuithe’s second touchdown of the day — a 45-yard pass from freshman quarterback Isaac Wilson — with about 6 1/2 minutes left to play in the fourth quarter.
Oklahoma State (3-1, 0-1) made things interesting with a pair of late touchdowns to cut the deficit to 22-19 with 1:47 remaining.
Bernard closed the door on the Cowboys’ comeback bid with a 4-yard run on third-and-3, allowing the Utes to run out the clock.
The senior running back’s 25 carries at Boone Pickens Stadium also were a career-high. He now has rushed for at least 100 yards in three consecutive games.
“[We] made that a lot more dramatic than we needed to, but we hung on and got the win,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said after the game. “I’m proud of our guys. [We] didn’t really play as smart as we needed to. [We] had a chance to really put the game away completely [and] let them back in it.”
Utah gained 456 yards of total offense (207 passing and a season-high 249 rushing) while limiting Oklahoma State to 285 total yards — including just 48 yards on the ground. The Cowboys entered the Big 12 opener for both teams averaging 192 rushing yards per game.
“Shoutout to the [offensive line],” Bernard said after the game. “They were creating some nice holes and staying man-on-man, and I was just able to read through a lot of it.”
Wilson made his second consecutive start in place of injured quarterback Cam Rising. The true freshman from Corner Canyon High School completed 17 of 29 passes for 207 yards and a touchdown with a pair of interceptions against the Cowboys. He also rushed for a career-high 41 yards in the road victory.
“[I’m] very proud of our freshman quarterback,” Whittingham said. “To put things in perspective, you come into a No. 14 team in the country’s home stadium with a true freshman QB, that’s pretty impressive.”
Wilson and Rising shared reps with the Utes’ first-team offense in practice leading up to the game, and the decision to rest their senior signal-caller another week was made just prior to the game, Whittingham said.
“I felt like I did some good and did some bad, but the defense and [Bernard] really pulled it out for us,” Wilson said of his performance.
Senior receiver Dorian Singer led the Utes with seven receptions for 95 yards, and Kuithe made four receptions for 74 yards — including the fourth-quarter touchdown. The senior tight end also gave the Utes their first lead of the game at 10-3 with a 1-yard touchdown run with 7:25 remaining in the first half.
Defensively, sophomore safety Tao Johnson led the Utes with six tackles, and senor defensive end Van Fillinger collected another sack, giving him a team-best 5.5 so far this season.
Senior safety Alaka’i Gilman and sophomore cornerback Elijah Davis both intercepted Cowboys quarterback Alan Bowman in the road win.
Utah kicker Cole Becker also had a solid day, connecting on three of his four field goal attempts — including a season-long 44-yard attempt in the fourth quarter to give the Utes a 16-3 lead.
