Washington vs. Utah: Score and Twitter Reaction

The fourth-ranked Washington Huskies have Dante Pettis to thank for keeping their undefeated record in tact. 

In a back-and-forth affair at Rice-Eccles Stadium on Saturday afternoon, the Huskies took down the 17th-ranked Utah Utes, 31-24, after Pettis returned a punt 58 yards for a touchdown with three minutes, 25 seconds remaining in regulation:

Washington is now 8-0 and should find itself slotted into the College Football Playoff picture when the first rankings are unveiled Tuesday. Utah, on the other hand, is 7-2 after its three-game winning streak was snapped. 

The Huskies and Utes played a remarkably even game on offense, with the Pac-12 North leaders securing a slight edge in total yardage (385-376) thanks to 186 passing yards and two touchdowns from quarterback Jake Browning. 

Washington running back Myles Gaskin added 19 carries for 151 yards and a score, marking the fourth straight game in which he's reached the century mark. 

CBS Sports' Aaron Taylor came away impressed with the way Gaskin sliced up the Utes defense: 

Utah countered with a two-pronged attack led by quarterback Troy Williams and running back Joe Williams. 

Troy Williams finished 14-of-31 for 163 yards and two touchdowns, while Joe Williams shouldered a monstrous workload to the tune of 35 carries for 172 yards and a score. 

However, Utah's offense didn't always run so smoothly. 

Washington looked like the more composed team throughout the opening stages of the first half, and it was reflected in the offense's balance. 

Browning didn't have much trouble picking apart the Utes secondary in the early going, and his composure was on display when he led the Huskies on an eight-play, 95-yard drive that was punctuated by a touchdown pass to John Ross. 

That possession also featured a bit of trickery, as Washington's official Twitter account documented: 

The Huskies—who opened the scoring with a Gaskin touchdown run—led 14-0 after Ross' TD, and they appeared to be in control with the aerial attack and ground game shouldering equal shares of the playmaking responsibilities. 

However, Utah crept back in a matter of minutes. 

An interception by Chase Hansen put Utah in scoring position, and Joe Williams—who rushed for over 100 yards in the first half—got the Utes on the board. 

ESPN.com's Kyle Bonagura noted how important Joe Williams was to Utah's success throughout the first 30 minutes while breaking down his absurd production: 

The Utes tacked on a field goal before halftime to cut the deficit to four, and they couldn't complain about that deficit considering Troy Williams struggled mightily, according to KSL.com's Josh Furlong: 

But he came out firing to start the second half. 

Utah's signal-caller eclipsed his first-half passing total on the first drive of the third quarter, and he marched his troops down the field before tossing a six-yard touchdown pass to Siaosi Wilson to help give the Utes a 17-14 lead, as shown by Utah Athletics on Twitter:  

Washington responded on its next drive with another Browning-to-Ross scoring strike, at which point the Huskies offense started to hit its stride: 

Gaskin slashed through the Utes front repeatedly as the second half progressed, and Washington's run game set up a 41-yard field goal that gave Washington a seven-point lead just over two minutes into the fourth quarter. 

But with a chance to create separation, the Huskies' vaunted defense couldn't come through. 

The Utes parlayed a third-down roughing-the-passer penalty into new life, and Troy Williams found Evan Moeai up the left sideline for a touchdown that prompted this critique from College Football Talk's Bryan Fischer: 

But for all of the Huskies' slip-ups, Pettis bailed them out when they needed it most. 

And now, Washington has another win on its resume that validates the program's status as a College Football Playoff contender. 

With the statement triumph in tow, Washington will now watch Tuesday's CFP rankings reveal with great anticipation as the committee mulls where the Huskies rank among the nation's premier teams. 

Regardless of where they wind up, though, the Huskies are in good shape moving forward. Not only are they still undefeated, but their next game will come against a vulnerable California Golden Bears team (4-4) that's coming off a loss to USC. 

Utah, meanwhile, will be off next week before returning to the gridiron on Thursday, Nov. 10, against the Arizona State Sun Devils.  

Postgame Reaction

"Our guys battled hard to run the ball and we were effective running the ball at times," Washington head coach Chris Petersen said, according to the Associated Press' John Coon. 

"Myles Gaskin made [the] running game get going," he added, per Coon. "Back to bag of tricks of making guys miss, spinning out of things."

More than anything, Petersen sounded encouraged by the way Washington battled against one of the Pac-12’s best. 

"I just like it when our team answers hard tests," he said, per Coon. 

And while the Utes came up empty, they embraced a positive mindset after the loss. 

"We wanted a few more turnovers," Hansen said, according to the Salt Lake Tribune’s Kyle Goon. "But they're a really good offense."

"That's a good football team we played today," head coach Kyle Whittingham added, per Goon. "Very talented."

Looking ahead, Whittingham remained optimistic about his team’s chances of qualifying for the Pac-12 title game. 

"We're still in control of our chances to get to the championship," he said, per Goon. "It's a three-game season right now."