Cameron Rising totaled four touchdowns, Clark Phillips III intercepted three passes, and Utah's red-zone defense stepped up to power the No. 12 Utes to a 42-16 Pac-12 Conference win over visiting Oregon State on Saturday at Salt Lake City.
Utah (4-1, 2-0 Pac-12) jumped to a 21-7 lead early second quarter on a pair of Rising touchdowns: A 19-yard pass to Jaylen Dixon and a 24-yard run for the quarterback's first rushing score of the season. Those scores bookended a Phillips interception of Oregon State's Chance Nolan that was returned for a TD.
The 38-yard scoring return was Phillips' second interception of Nolan in the first quarter, leading to the quarterback's replacement by freshman Ben Gulbranson.
Oregon State (3-2, 0-2) mounted three consecutive drives with Gulbranson behind center, but could not reach the end zone. Utah's defense allowed only a trio of Atticus Sappington field goals.
The Beavers moved into the red zone a fourth time and were threatening at the 8-yard line in the third quarter, but Gulbranson was intercepted by R.J. Hubert in the end zone. Hubert returned the pick 70 yards to change the completely of the game.
Utah capitalized on the short field with Dixon carrying for a 22-yard score, changing a potential one-possession game into a 35-16 lead over the course of three snaps.
The Utes defense then made a fourth-down stop on the ensuing Oregon State drive, and Rising punctuated his standout day with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Dalton Kincaid six plays later.
Rising completed 19-of-25 passes for 199 yards, spreading his three scoring tosses to three different targets. Devaughn Vele, who had a game-high 94 receiving yards on seven catches, hauled in his 16-yard score from Rising in the third quarter.
Rising also rushed for a game-high for 73 yards on seven carries. Phillips capped his day stymying yet another Oregon State red-zone opportunity with an interception of Gulbranson in the fourth quarter.
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