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Utah running back Zack Moss (2) runs with the ball during the first half against Washington on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2019, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)
SEATTLE — The past month looked, and felt, so easy for No. 9 Utah. One blowout after another. No tests for the Utes to answer.
They knew traveling to Washington would be different, and they were right. The Utes were challenged; falling behind early and rallying late, and in doing so solidified their spot in the College Football Playoff conversation.
Tyler Huntley threw for one touchdown and ran for another, Jaylon Johnson returned an interception 39 yards for a score, and No. 9 Utah overcame an 11-point first-half deficit to beat Washington 33-28. The Utes did their part in keeping pace in the Pac-12 South race and bolstered their CFP resume with a road win over a talented opponent in a place where it’s never come easy for Utah.
“It says a lot. We’ve had a lot of games, the last three games or whatever it’s been by putting up 40 points and our defense looking impeccable,” Utah running back Zack Moss said. “When we can do this and come on the road and win a game like this and doing it the way we did, that’s what championship teams do and that’s what we’ve been missing the last couple of years.”
The Utes (8-1, 5-1 Pac-12) picked up just their second all-time win over the Huskies — oddly enough both coming in Seattle — leaning on a defense that forced Washington quarterback Jacob Eason into three turnovers and got just enough offense from Huntley and friends to rally from an early 14-3 hole.
Huntley hit Moss on a 9-yard TD late in the first half and added a 1-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter to give Utah its first lead, 26-21. Huntley’s TD run capped a drive that featured a key third-and-12 conversion where Huntley was able to hit Jaylen Dixon for a 41-yard completion.
That was the appetizer before Huntley’s brilliant fourth quarter. Huntley added a pair of key third-down conversions on Utah’s final scoring drive, hitting Solomon Enis for 14 yards and Samson Nacua for 28 yards. Moss finished the 84-yard drive with a 2-yard TD run with 4:52 left and capped a 30-7 scoring blitz from the Utes.
Huntley finished 19 of 24 for 284 yards. He was sacked four times — Utah had allowed just seven all season — but all came in the first half and the Utes were able to protect Huntley much better as the game progressed. He was 5 of 6 for 96 yards in the fourth quarter.
Moss finished with 100 yards on 27 carries.
(8) GEORGIA 24, (6) FLORIDA: Jake Fromm picked apart Florida’s defense for the second straight year and No. 8 Georgia beat the sixth-ranked Gators, 24-17.
Fromm connected on 20 of 30 passes for 279 yards and two touchdowns, including a 52-yarder to Lawrence Cager in the fourth quarter for the Bulldogs (7-1, 4-1 Southeastern) against the Gators (7-2, 4-2).
(4) CLEMSON 59, WOFFORD 14: Trevor Lawrence scored four touchdowns, Travis Etienne ran for 212 yards and two TDs, and Clemson (9-0) won its 24th consecutive game, rolling over visiting Wofford (5-3), an FCS opponent.
(14) MICHIGAN 38, MARYLAND 7: Giles Jackson returned the opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown to get things started for Michigan (7-2, 4-2 Big Ten), which used two first-half scoring runs by freshman Zach Charbonnet to pull away from Maryland (3-6, 1-5) at College Park, Maryland.
(16) NOTRE DAME 21, VIRGINIA TECH 20: Ian Book ran 7 yards for a touchdown with 29 seconds left to cap an 18-play, 87-yard drive as Notre Dame (6-2) defeated Virginia Tech (5-3) at South Bend, Indiana.
(23) WAKE FOREST 44, NORTH CAROLINA STATE 10: Jamie Newman returned from injury to throw for three touchdowns and run for two more as Wake Forest (7-1, 3-1 Atlantic Coast) beat North Carolina State (4-4, 1-3) at Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
BOSTON COLLEGE 58, SYRACUSE 27: AJ Dillon and David Bailey combined for 414 yards rushing and five touchdowns, Dennis Grosel passed for 195 yards and three more scores, and visiting Boston College (5-4, 3-3 Atlantic Coast) blew past Syracuse (3-6, 0-5) for the Orange’s fourth straight loss.
HOLY CROSS 24, LEHIGH 17: Connor Degenhardt threw for one touchdown and ran for another, and Holy Cross (5-4, 3-0 Patriot) held off Lehigh (4-4, 3-1) at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
NEW HAMPSHIRE 28, VILLANOVA 20: Max Brosmer threw three TD passes, two to Dylan Laube in the second half to rally New Hampshire (5-3, 4-1 Colonial Athletic) over Villanova (6-3, 3-3) at Durham, New Hampshire.
DARTMOUTH 9, HARVARD 6: Derek Kyler connected with Masaki Aerts for the game’s only touchdown, a 43-yard scoring strike on the final play, and Dartmouth (7-0, 4-0 Ivy) stunned Harvard (4-3, 2-2) at Boston.
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