Salted in Salt Lake

SALT LAKE CITY — As it turned out, the problem wasn’t lightning. It was a thunderbolt called Tyler Huntley and a storm called the Utah defense.

The Utes’ dual-threat quarterback shredded the Washington State defense for 334 yards passing and 31 on the ground Saturday as the Cougars lost 38-13 to No. 19 Utah for their second consecutive Pac-12 disappointment.

This time, even Anthony Gordon and the prolific WSU offense were squelched, not so much by weather as by tenacious Utah defense.

Washington State coach Mike Leach didn’t pull punches about how he measured his team’s effort. He called his players “fat, dumb, happy, and entitled.”

“It’s difficult to say how tough Utah is because they had token resistance on both of sides of the ball from us,” Leach said. “At some point, they have to embrace the effort themselves. They have to look at themselves.”

Forecasts for lightning and possible NCAA-enforced delays created pregame apprehensions, but play proceeded on schedule amid first-half rain.

The wet stuff eventually stopped. The Utes never did, maintaining possession for all but a small slice of the third quarter to extend an eight-point halftime lead.

The Cougars (3-2, 0-2), faltering again after a devastating 67-63 home loss Sept. 21 to UCLA, struggled in the defensive backfield and bore little resemblance to the team that had opened with three nonleague wins and rose as high as No. 19 in the rankings.

The decisive blow was delivered by Utah defensive back Julian Blackmon, who ankle-tackled Max Borghi at the 1-yard line on fourth-and-goal early in the fourth quarter. That ended an encouraging WSU drive after Derrick Vickers’ 7-yard scoring run had pushed the Utes lead to 31-13.

Huntley passed 21-for-30 with no interceptions as the Utes (4-1, 1-1) ended a string of four consecutive losses to Washington State and recovered from a setback at USC the previous week that had seen their quarterback limp off the field.

“I feel as confident as I ever have, but everyone around me played well, the offensive line, the receivers and the defense. We were rolling,” Huntley said.

Gordon, the national passing leader, was held to a 30-for-49 night for 252 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Borghi caught nine passes for 70 yards and added 51 yards on the ground for the Cougs.

The Huntley-led Utes dominated much of the first half, piling up 325 yards of offense. They blew an early scoring opportunity with a dropped end-zone pass and a missed field goal, then got their act together to produce touchdowns on their next two possessions and lead 21-13 at halftime.

The Cougars struggled with Utah’s defensive pressure in that half but Gordon threw a short scoring pass to Deon McIntosh and Blake Mazza converted two first-half field goals, including a career-long 51-yarder.

Late in the half, Huntley slipped a sack attempt by Will Rodgers III to complete a fourth-down pass, keeping alive a drive capped by Huntley’s 15-yard scoring scramble.

The rain fell especially hard in the second quarter, and a distant strike of lightning prompted FS1 to bench its camera operators and instead use wide-angle stadium feeds for much of the period.

Wazzu’s defensive highlight in the first half was Justus Rogers’ stuff of running back Jordan Wilmore on fourth-and-1 at the Cougars 47. A third-down defensive holding call on Utah gave WSU a further boost, but the Cougs still had to settle for a 24-yard field goal.

The rain subsided in the third as the Utes opened the half by blowing a third-and-goal situation from the 1. But they ate up almost eight minutes off the clock and got a 28-yard field goal for a 24-13 lead.

The Cougars were without one of their leading receivers, Brandon Arconado, who had sustained an undisclosed injury the previous week.

Utah was missing standout running back Zach Moss to a shoulder injury and was also without top receiver Britain Covey.

Utah 38, WSU 13

Stars of the game

TYLER HUNTLEY of Utah completed 21 of 30 passes for 334 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, plus rushed for 31 yards and two more scores. BRYAN THOMPSON had four receptions for 111 yards, finding soft spots in the Washington State defense in the early going. For the Cougars, MAX BORGHI collected 70 yards in catches and 51 on the ground, BLAKE MAZZA kicked a career-high 51-yard field goal and DEZMON PATMON caught five passes for 62 yards.

Turning point

With the score tied at 7 in the second quarter, Huntley capitalized on excellent protection to fire downfield to a wide-open SAMSON NACUA for a 52-yard touchdown on the first play of the second quarter.

Up next

The Cougars have a bye this week and return to action Oct. 12 at Arizona State. A start time has yet to be determined.