Final
Wilson, No. 15 Arizona rout No. 20 Utah
Nov 23, 2014 - 7:37 AM Salt Lake City, UT (SportsNetwork.com) - Arizona was on the UCLA bandwagon for a few hours on Saturday night, but are quickly jumping off.Before all that, however.
Nick Wilson ran for 218 yards and three touchdowns as the 15th-ranked Wildcats rolled to a 42-10 win over No. 20 Utah on Saturday afternoon.
Arizona (9-2, 6-2 Pac-12) is currently one of three two-loss teams in the Pac-12 South. The Wildcats need a UCLA win over USC on Saturday, which they got, and a Bruins loss to Stanford on Friday along with a win over Arizona State to make it to the Pac-12 title game at Levi's Stadium.
"Normally we celebrate a win for 24 hours, but since we play our rival next week, we will enjoy it for 12 hours and move on," Wildcats coach Rich Rodriguez said.
Anu Solomon was 8-of-17 for 158 yards and carried the ball five times for 22 yards and a score before departing with a foot injury. He was seen in a walking boot in the second half.
Jesse Scroggins came in for him in the second half and finished 3-of-5 for 64 yards, while tallying 16 yards on four totes for the Wildcats, who have won three in a row.
Devontae Booker provided 142 yards on the ground and Travis Wilson was 16- of-29 for 143 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions for Utah (7-4, 4-4), which has dropped three of its last four games.
Booker broke off a 61-yard run to set up an Andy Phillips 28-yard field goal with 5:14 remaining in the third, cutting the deficit to 21-10, and it appeared Utah got even closer a bit later, but a holding penalty nullified a Kaelin Clay punt return for a score.
"The turning point in the game," Utah coach Kyle Wittingham said. "If we do end up having that one stand it's 21-17 and it's a ballgame. But it wasn't to be."
Wilson then bobbled a snap on a 3rd-and-3 from the Arizona 28 and was sacked by William Parks for a loss of seven to take the Utes out of field goal range.
Arizona ripped off 21 straight points to put the game away shortly thereafter.
Wilson posted a 75-yard TD run on Arizona's next possession and then scampered in from 19 yards out after Jared Tevis intercepted Wilson three plays into Utah's next drive early in the fourth.
Tra'Mayne Bondurant's 39-yard interception return for a touchdown capped the scoring.
Earlier, Utah recorded three-and-outs on its first four possessions, but the Wildcats led just 7-0 despite outgaining the Utes 197-17 in the first quarter.
Arizona punted after three plays on its initial touch and a 14-play, 64-yard drive went for not when Casey Skowron missed a 39-yard field goal on its second sequence.
The Wildcats, though, found the end zone on their third trek.
Solomon hit Austin Hill for a 51-yard gain down to the 11 before keeping it himself for a touchdown a play later for the game's first points late in the first.
Utah didn't pick up a first down until the early stages of the second, but Jourdon Grandon intercepted Wilson in the end zone on a 3rd-and-6 from the Arizona 23 for a touchback.
Two plays after Solomon found Trey Griffey for a 49-yard pickup, Wilson scampered in from 17 yards out to make it 14-0 and Dan Pettinato's 31-yard scoop-and-score on Utah's ensuing drive made it 21-0 with 1:17 to go in the half.
Wilson, though, fired an 11-yard TD strike to Westlee Tonga in the back left corner of the end zone to whittle the gap to 21-7 seconds before the break.
Game Notes
Arizona outgained Utah 520-384 ... Samajie Grant caught four passes for 88 yards for the Wildcats ... Tonga had four receptions for 68 yards ... Arizona was 4-of-12 on third down, while Utah finished 6-of-19.
- Casey Skowron extra point is good.
Nov 22 6:36 PM - Conner Manning pass intercepted by Tra''Mayne Bondurant at the Utah 39 and returned for 39 yards.
Arizona(15) 41, Utah(20) 10 4th - 9:58Nov 22 6:17 PM - 29
roots - ARIZONA: 21
UTAH: 10
End of 3rd
Nov 22 5:56 PM - 29
roots - ARIZONA: 21
UTAH: 7
Halftime
Nov 22 5:02 PM - Travis Wilson pass to Westlee Tonga for 11 yards.
Arizona(15) 21, Utah(20) 6 2nd - 0:07Nov 22 4:59 PM - Bubba Poole rushed for no gain. Bubba Poole fumble recovered by Dan Pettinato at the Utah 31, returned into the end zone.
Arizona(15) 20, Utah(20) 0 2nd - 1:17Nov 22 4:51 PM - ARIZONA: 7
UTAH: 0
End of 1st
Nov 22 4:10 PM - ARIZONA: 0
UTAH: 0
1st Quarter - 14:55
Nov 22 3:36 PM
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