No. 10 Utah erases first-half lull in comeback win over No. 14 Houston

SALT LAKE CITY — No. 10 Utah was on the wrong side of football for much of Saturday night.

With No. 2 BYU and No. 8 Texas Tech dropping games earlier in the day, Utah just needed a win to move up in the rankings and claim the top spot in the Big 12. No. 14 Houston, though, had other plans on another chaotic weekend of college football.

But Houston didn't account for Jackson Bennee.

With Utah holding onto a 14-13 lead late in the game and Houston backed up deep in its territory, Bennee went untouched to Houston quarterback Conner Weigman and strip sacked the dynamic Cougars player as defensive tackle Jireh Moe jumped on the ball.

"Honestly, good play, but it was really the call; it was a great call," Bennee said. "I can't really take too much credit for it. Things opened up how it should, and that's what you dream for."

On the ensuing play, Utah quarterback Devon Dampier went untouched into the end zone to give the Utes a 21-13 lead with just over two minutes left to play. The touchdown sent Rice-Eccles Stadium into pandemonium in the dark and gave Utah some much-needed breathing room.

Even with the electric turnaround for the Utes, the high-powered Houston offense wasn't finished. Weigman quickly fought back and helped the Cougars get down to Utah's 23-yard line with under two minutes left to play to give Houston a chance.

In the end, Utah's defense held firm and stopped Houston on their final drive to defeat the Cougars 21-13 and remain undefeated on the season as one of only three remaining unbeaten teams in the country (and the only remaining team in the Big 12).

The Utes maintain the longest active winning streak in FBS at 13 straight wins.

"A reminder: It's hard to win in college football," Utah head coach Morgan Scalley said. "So grateful for our guys, their fight; and that's what you need. I don't really care about the stats. I'm so proud of these guys, just their fight. Devon Dampier, he's our guy, and so proud of his fight in the second half. The defense came up with stop after stop."

Utah (7-0, 4-0 Big 12) finished the night with 430 total yards on offense, with an equal split between the pass (204) and run (226) against a stout Houston defense that ranked in the top 10 in run defense.

Dampier threw for 204 yards and two interceptions — including a potential costly one late in the game as he tried to force a completion — but led the team with 150 rushing yards and two scores to move into second place all-time for a Utah QB in rushing (passing former Utah QB Tyler Huntley).

"Today was one of those games where I think my legs were needed, just the way they play defense," Dampier said. "And I'm never scared to tote the rock if that's what I've got to do to win the game for my team."

The Cougars (6-2, 3-2 Big 12) held the Utes scoreless in the first half and took a 10-0 lead to open up the third quarter on an eight-minute drive to start the second half. But Utah finally found its offense on their first drive of the second half, with Dampier escaping for a 22-yard rushing touchdown for the team's first points of the night.

Dampier single-handily wheeled the Utes to a score on the drive to give his team the much-needed spark to overcome a sluggish first half.

Utah used that momentum to eventually take a 14-13 lead on a Wayshawn Parker 5-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter. Parker, who was bottled up for much of the night, contributed 47 rushing yards and 46 receiving yards as an all-around threat for the offense.

In the end, it was enough to get the job done against a ranked opponent.

Weigman finished the night throwing for 282 yards on 19-of-35 passing, but didn't have a passing touchdown on the night. Receiver Amare Thomas supplied 133 yards on five catches as a constant mismatch for Utah's defense.

Houston found ways to exploit Utah's defense, but the Utes defenders time and again found ways to get a step, including a pair of red-zone stops. In the end, the defense held a top 10 offense to just 368 total yards and just 86 yards on the ground. The Cougars ranked 15th in the country in rushing offense, averaging 220.3 yards per game.

"They've been playing really good red zone defense all season long, and it didn't stop," Scalley said. "I thought they were very stout when Houston wanted to run the ball. They got some things on us in some combo beaters in man coverage, got some chunk yardage plays, but our guys just kept fighting."

In the end, Utah's defense embodied the bend-but-don't-break mentality.

"I'm really proud of our guys, the way we battled in tough situations," linebacker Trey Reynolds said. "We were in some pretty hard situations there, and I'm really proud of our guys the way they responded. They're a great offense, and we're just lucky and we're really happy with the way our defense performed tonight."

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