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Wide, Utah rally to beat San Diego State

Nov 21, 2010 - 7:56 AM San Diego, CA (Sports Network) - Eddie Wide rushed for two touchdowns, including a go-ahead score early in the fourth quarter, and No. 25 Utah earned a 38-34 comeback win over San Diego State.

Jordan Wynn passed for 362 yards and two scores on 21-of-33 efficiency for the Utes (9-2, 6-1 MWC), who were coming off losses to TCU and Notre Dame after starting the year with eight straight wins.

Ryan Lindley passed for a whopping 528 yards and four scores but threw three costly interceptions for the Aztecs (7-4, 4-3), who held a 17-point lead midway through the second quarter. Vincent Brown pulled in eight passes for 184 yards and three TDs in the loss, the program's second straight.

Utah trailed 34-24 heading to the fourth, and on the first play of the stanza, Matt Asiata got enough for a first down on 4th-and-1 from the SDSU three-yard line. Three plays later, Asiata plowed into the end zone from the one.

The Utes then blocked a punt to set themselves up at the three again. The Aztecs held firm until Wide took a pitch to the right and barely reached the ball over across the goal line on fourth down with 10:21 to play.

Utah's Chaz Walker made a diving interception at the Utah 12 with just over six minutes left to play. The Utes killed off a little more than three minutes on the ensuing drive before punting away.

The Aztecs took over at their over 15, and five straight completions moved the ball to the Utah 38. With just over 90 seconds to play, Lindley tried for too much and was picked off in the end zone by Brian Blechen, essentially sealing the outcome.

"The first half was rough, particularly our defense, (which) couldn't make a lot of plays," Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said. "Finally in the second half, we started to make plays...It was a great win for our football team, and I couldn't be more proud of our guys."

The first-quarter scoring saw Brown catch touchdown passes of 10 and 11 yards around Joe Phillips' 32-yard field goal for a 14-3 game.

SDSU's Ronnie Hillman shook off an arm tackle and went in from five yards out 1:34 into the second quarter, though the extra point was pushed wide left.

Luke Matthews hauled in a 57-yard TD for Utah's first touchdown less than two minutes later for a 20-10 game.

Gavin Escobar caught a 14-yard strike in the left corner of the end zone to cap a 14-yard, 86-yard drive for a 27-10 cushion, but again Utah needed just three plays to score, as Wide's 16-yard jaunt came with 4 1/2 minutes left before halftime.

Lindley was intercepted deep in Utah territory in the final minute. The Utes were able to move the ball to the SDSU 47 for one last play, and Wynn's bomb was tipped at the two before falling into Kendrick Moeai's hands in the end zone for a miraculous score, cutting Utah's deficit to 27-24 at the break.

"[You can't] finish halves the way we finished it in the first half and give them a lot of momentum," Aztecs head coach Brady Hoke said.

Another highlight-reel TD came early in the third, as a pair of Utah defenders tipped a deep pass near midfield intended for Brown, who corralled the pigskin and went the rest of the way for a 90-yard score.

Game Notes

Utah has won five straight in the series...Both programs end regular-season play next Saturday, with Utah taking on BYU and SDSU battling UNLV...Asiata rushed for 87 yards on 19 carries...Jerome Brooks led Utah with 63 yards on three receptions...DeMarco Sampson logged 154 yards on 12 catches for the Aztecs.