3 takeaways from Utah’s season-ending win over UCF – Deseret News

The worst season of the Kyle Whittingham era came to an end Friday night as Utah defeated UCF with a 28-14 victory at FBC Mortgage Stadium in Orlando.

That ended a seven-game losing streak for the Utes, who finished the year with an overall record of 5-7 and 2-7 in the Big 12 in their first year in the league.

With the win, the Utes avoided eight games for the first time since 1989.

3 snack bars

Utah’s defense was having a night. The Utes, despite their record, have been strong on defense most of the season and against UCF, the defense committed three turnovers that led to 17 points.

On this night, that was more than enough against an offensively inept Knights squad.

A week after Lander Barton hit Utah’s first pick-six of the season, extending the Utes’ pick-six streak to an NCAA record 21 years, they had two more against UCF.

In the second quarter, Zemaiah Vaughn intercepted a bad pass from Dylan Rizk and ran 60 yards, making the game 10-0. Then, in the fourth quarter, with the contest still in full swing, Smith Snowden intercepted a pass from EJ Colson deep in UCF territory and returned it 13 yards to make the score 28-7.

Utah’s defense also set up the first score of the night. On UCF’s first drive, the Knights were in the lead at the Utah 29, but on third down Barton Rizk stripped the ball, which bounced backwards for a 25-yard loss before Logan Fano recovered the fumble at the UCF 46 regained.

Utah gained 27 yards on the ensuing possession and scored on a 37-yard field goal by Cole Becker.

Utah held UCF to 379 total yards as Rizk completed just 11 of 27 passes for 118 yards and one interception before being pulled back by Colson in the fourth quarter.

Colson completed 8 of 12 passes for 70 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

At one point in the second half, Utah forced a turnover on downs on three consecutive UCF possessions – the Knights had reached the Utes’ 26, 37 and 39 on those drives before the Utes made their fourth down stops.

Micah Bernard’s 1,000-yard chase had a happy ending. Entering the game, Utah senior Micah Bernard needed 78 rushing yards to reach 1,000 yards this season, which would be a first in his career.

He got off to a strong start and had 56 rushing yards on 10 carries by halftime.

Late in the third quarter, Bernard reached 999 yards on a 2-yard carry to the UCF 34, and two plays later he gained another yard and reached the 1,000-yard milestone.

Bernard finished the night with 87 rushing yards on 22 carries, giving him 1,009 for the year. He also scored four touchdowns this season.

He is the first 1,000-yard runner for Utah since 2019, when Zack Moss ran for 1,416 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Have we seen the emergence of a playmaker in Zacharyus Williams? Before Friday night, freshman wide receiver Zacharyus Williams had four receptions to his name, and those four came in the last two weeks.

Against UCF, however, the 6-foot-2 Williams was a constant presence in the Utes’ offense. He finished the night with six receptions for 72 yards and two carries for 11 yards.

Not bad for a guy who was buried on the depth chart at the start of the season.

Williams also came up with some pretty big plays. On Utah’s second play from scrimmage, he caught a 17-yard pass to advance the ball to the UCF 23, and that drive ended in a field goal.

Then, with two minutes left in the second quarter, Williams’ longest play of the night – a 33-yard reception – brought Utah back to the UCF 7, and that set up another field goal.

His 11-yard run in the third quarter kicked off the Utes’ only touchdown drive, and later in the possession he caught a 4-yard pass to convert a fourth-and-3 from the UCF 31.

That helped offset an otherwise difficult night for Utah’s offense, which accounted for 15 points — a touchdown drive, two field goals and a two-point conversion.

Luke Bottari threw for 111 yards and his first career touchdown while completing 13 of 20 pass attempts. However, Williams made a clear impression in the season finale. Could it mean a bigger role next season?