STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — Micah Bernard ran for a new career-high 182 yards and No. 12 Utah mounted a fourth-quarter comeback to beat No. 14 Oklahoma State 22-19 on Saturday in the Utes’ first Big 12 game since leaving the Pac-12.
Brant Kuithe scored two touchdowns and Cole Becker kicked three field goals for Utah (4-0, 1-0 Big 12).
Freshman Isaac Wilson threw for 207 yards and a touchdown and ran for 41 yards in place of injured Utes starter Cam Rising, who warmed up but did not play.
Oklahoma State’s Alan Bowman, who had been benched after an ineffective first half, returned midway through the fourth quarter and threw two touchdowns and two 2-point conversions to help Oklahoma State (3-1, 0-1) cut Utah’s lead to three points.
“We made it more dramatic than we needed to be, but we handled it well and won,” said Utah coach Kyle Whittingham. “Proud of our guys. We didn’t always play as smart as we should have. We had a chance to completely decide the game and get them back in the game.”
Utah ran 81 plays, the Cowboys 59, and had the ball for more than 42 minutes.
“The defense was on the field all day, which honestly made it extremely difficult for them,” Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said. “I thought they played really well. You can’t be on the field forever. That made it really difficult.”
Bowman, who completed 8 of 22 passes for 89 yards in the first half, finished with 206 yards and two interceptions. Sophomore Garret Rangel played the third quarter and part of the fourth before Bowman returned with 9:26 left and the Cowboys trailing 16-3.
“Offensively, we were terrible,” Gundy said. “We couldn’t get our quarterback to play, and then all of a sudden, toward the end of the game, we started playing better at the quarterback position. They won the game, but we certainly did a lot to help them.”
Utah held Oklahoma State’s Ollie Gordon II to 42 yards rushing. Gordon won the Doak Walker Award as the nation’s best running back last season.
Utah lost the ball three times in the first half but still led 10-3. Cowboys safety Trey Rucker intercepted Wilson twice before halftime.
The Utes defense limited Oklahoma State to 119 yards and five first downs before halftime, with Gordon gaining 16 yards on six attempts.
The teams scored field goals before Utah forced a punt and drove 64 yards in 11 plays for the only touchdown of the first half, with Kuithe scoring a direct touchdown from the 1-yard line.
The t
takeaway
Utah: The Utes played without starters Connor O’Toole and Karene Reid on defense, but still brought in Gordon and Bowman. Utah limited Oklahoma State to 285 yards and forced eight punts.
Oklahoma State: The Cowboys almost made a comeback, but they couldn’t stop Bernard and the Utes ran out of time.
Young Weapon
Wilson showed poise in his second start, completing 17 of 29 passes and extending several drives with his legs. He ran for a first down on fourth-and-5 attempts from Oklahoma State’s 21-yard line in the second quarter and later picked up 48 yards on third-and-11 attempts in the third quarter.
“I liked that he just kept going,” Whittingham said. “He never got discouraged. He intercepted a couple of balls and didn’t flinch. You saw his running ability. He made that 40- or 50-yard run — that was huge at that point. He put his shoulder down and made another hard, hard run in the red zone that got us a first down.”
Journey to Jerusalem
Gundy said he pulled Bowman out because “sometimes you have to get a guy out of there and calm him down a little bit.”
“Things are moving so fast that it’s hard to understand that part,” he said. “But I just felt like we weren’t playing well and needed a backup pitcher and got someone else. And Garret had a rough day, so we switched things up.”
Rangel, a sophomore, completed 3 of 11 passes for 31 yards.
Next
Utah: Hosts Arizona on Saturday.
Oklahoma State: Visits Kansas State on Saturday.
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