Mountain West: No. 21 Utah Leads No. 19 BYU In First

Provo, UT (Sports Network) -Andrew George’s 25-yard touchdown reception in overtime sent 18th-ranked BYU over 22nd-ranked Utah, 26-23.

The victory erased a subpar day from Max Hall, who completed only 12-of-32 passes for 134 yards and two scores for the Cougars (10-2, 7-1 MWC), who closed out the regular season with four straight victories.

Manase Tonga also recorded a TD catch, while Harvey Unga tallied 116 yards and a score on 23 carries.

Jordan Wynn was 21-of-41 passing for 198 yards and an interception for the Utes (9-3, 6-2), who dropped two of their final three games. Eddie Wide posted Utah’s lone touchdown and 114 yards on 21 carries.

Joe Phillips began overtime with a 29-yard field goal which put Utah ahead, then Hall somehow found George all alone in the middle of the field, and he rumbled the rest of the way for the winning score.

A 39-yard field goal from Phillips gave Utah the game’s first score, and Phillips was good again from 21 yards out for a 6-0 contest.

Mitch Payne was good from 28 and BYU got back within three early in the second, then Unga’s two-yard TD pushed the Cougars in front 10-6.

Payne’s 37-yard attempt was good with four seconds left in the half and the home team took that seven-point edge to intermission.

Hall’s one-yard TD pass to Tonga pushed BYU ahead by 14 points early in the third quarter, and Utah didn’t respond until Phillips connected on a 31-yard field goal seconds into the fourth.

The Utes managed to climb within three after Wide’s one-yard touchdown run was followed by Wynn’s conversion pass to David Reed for a 20-17 contest with 7:16 to play.

Phillips then hit from 40 yards out with 29 seconds left to deadlock the game, and BYU allowed the clock to run out on its following possession.

BYU has taken three of the last four meetings but Utah still leads the overall series, 53-34-4...The Utes outgained the Cougars 298-265.