No. 2 Utah outlasts No. 23 Arizona in late-night shootout to stay undefeated

TUCSON, Ariz. — Saturday night's game had it all.

After a nationwide airline grounding that forced the game to be pushed back three hours, the ranked-on-ranked matchup lived up to the old "after dark" vibes between former Pac-12 opponents.

There were back-to-back 60-yard plays by players from both teams, mishandled pitches that led to a fumble, a muffed punt, interceptions from a wide receiver in the end zone, and a back-and-forth affair between two teams who were in contention for a Big 12 title.

But in the end, it was No. 2 Utah outlasting No. 23 Arizona in a 40-39 win after midnight.

Utah quarterback Devon Dampier hit Creed Whittemore late in the fourth quarter, and the receiver went 70 yards untouched for what turned out to be the game-winning score. As he neared the end zone, Whittemore made the shush gesture with his hand, ultimately silencing the raucous Arizona crowd.

The win moved Utah to 10-0 on the season and extended their FBS-leading streak to 16 straight games with the win.

"Dev put it on the money, and we were able to make the play," Whittemore said. "But it starts up front with the O-line holding up, everybody doing their job, and I just so happened to be in the end zone."

Facing a late deficit and a momentum swing in Arizona's favor, Dampier said there was a calm presence on the sidelines.

"All my teammates were coming up to me like, 'Devon, this is your Heisman moment,'" Dampier said. "It was funny to hear it, but I told those guys we're calm and collected. This ain't nothing, let's just go out there and do what we do. And I thought we did a great job executing it when it mattered."

Dampier certainly added to his Heisman resume Saturday in what turned out to be a quarterback duel with Arizona signal-caller Noah Fifita.

The Arizona native, who has elevated his game for Utah this season, finished the night throwing for 204 yards and two touchdowns, while adding 100 yards and two scores on the ground to help lift the Utes to another win.

"Devon Dampier did Devon. ... And there was no one besides him that was going to have that ball on that last play," Utah head coach Morgan Scalley said.

"I'm just happy for him," Scalley said. "I mean, here he is in his hometown, and had all the family here; and for him to make mistakes and come back and continue to do what he's been doing this season is letting that stuff go, and coming back and making plays and making up for it. His dedication to this program and his leadership have been a difference maker."

And though Dampier helped lead the effort, Scalley said he was proud of the full-team effort, especially after an adventurous 24 hours as Utah tried to work through an airline stoppage and was forced to fly out Saturday morning.

"Just proud of our team, their fight, their belief in each other when stuff doesn't go right, and way to finish that one off," Scalley said.

Dampier said the team's mindset coming into Saturday's road tilt was "no excuses."

"We live by it," he said. "That was the mindset when we came out here. No one's gonna feel sorry for us if we would have lost this game, so that was just kind of the mindset. No one's gonna feel bad for us that we had to find a way around this to get here and play on the same day. So it was just the mindset: come out there and let's go ball."

But it took Utah some time to finally settle into a game that Arizona (7-3, 4-3 Big 12) quickly took control of on the opening possession. Fifita led his team down the field on an 11-play, 75-yard drive that ended with Quincy Craig finding pay dirt on a 1-yard rushing score.

It was the first touchdown scored on Utah in the opening quarter this season.

And Arizona never relented en route to a 14-3 lead before Utah settled in and Dampier took over the game.

Dampier led Utah to back-to-back scoring drives that began with Byrd Ficklin handing off the ball to Dampier for a 14-yard rushing touchdown, followed by a Houdini-like escape by Dampier on the next series for an 18-yard rushing touchdown to give Utah the lead.

The senior quarterback then set up Ficklin a few drives later and tossed him a pass that went 4 yards for another Utah touchdown to take a 24-21 lead over the Wildcats.

But Fifita had other plans.

The childhood Utah fan found an open Chris Hunter for a 67-yard strike, and followed it up with a perfectly placed back-shoulder fade ball to Giovanni Richardson for a 19-yard touchdown to reclaim the lead on a 99-yard drive that took just over two minutes of time.

The drive was set up with a goal-line interception by Dampier, who had an open Hunter Andrews in the end zone, but Jay'Vion Cole jumped the route and picked it off at the half yard line to give Arizona life.

Arizona continued to capitalize on the momentum, including a game-changing moment in which Utah's defense got a three-and-out stop but muffed the ensuing punt. The Wildcats quickly jumped on the ball and capitalized with a score to keep Utah from pulling away.

Utah's defense, though, found a way in the end to keep Fifita and the Arizona offense from a final answer.

Fifita finished the night throwing for 356 yards and three touchdowns to help the Arizona offense to 415 total yards against Utah's defense. Utah ended the game with 500 total yards, including 296 yards on the ground.

In replacement duty, backup running back Daniel Bray exploded on the scene for 197 rushing yards and a touchdown, while adding 21 receiving yards on three catches for a career night.

"I was just very blessed to be out there, be a part and help contribute, and do what I need to do to whatever to get the job done," Bray said.

Utah now turns its attention to a final road game against TCU next week, where it can lock up a spot in the final Big 12 championship game with a win over the Horned Frogs.

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