Utah Football’s Best Plays From 2022: Washington State Cougars

UTAH UTES

Jul 17, 2023, 4:45 PM

BY MICHELLE BODKIN

KSL Sports

SALT LAKE CITY – We are 7 weeks out from the Utes’ season opener against Florida at Rice-Eccles Stadium and counting down the best play in each of Utah football’s 14 games in 2022 to celebrate. Buckle up, because today’s focus is on the Washington State Cougars and it’s about to get weird.

While not every game went Utah’s way last season, they did enough to stamp their ticket to the Pac-12 Championship Game in Las Vegas, go back-to-back as conference champions, and earn their second berth in a row to the “Grandaddy of them All”.

Many believe Utah has a good chance of three-peating in 2023 due to the talent returning and the coaches’ aggressive approach in the Transfer Portal to address a few deficiencies. Fortunately, we are getting closer to the 2023 football season, but still have a way to go. In the meantime, let’s take a trip down memory lane, focusing on Utah’s odd battle in the Palouse.

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Needless to say, this was not a great game for the Utes squeaking away with a 21-17 victory over the Cougars after a BYE week and massive win over No. 7 USC nearly two weeks before that. This week had “trap game” written all over it and it lived up to that billing, but Utah did prevail.

In what was largely a defensive battle with starting quarterback Cam Rising out due to an injury sustained against the Trojans and backup Bryson Barnes in, Utah ground out nailbiter.

There were a few brilliant moments in this game, Money Parks and Jaylen Dixon both had some monster receptions that kept the chains moving. Ja’Quinden Jackson, Jaylon Glover, and Dalton Kincaid all put points on the board. Van Fillinger and Jonah Elliss teamed up for a fumble and recovery.

WHAT A PLAY! @bryson_barnes10 to @devaughn_vele

— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) October 28, 2022

However, none of those things matter if Barnes didn’t connect with Devaughn Vele on 3rd and nine with 2:59 left in the fourth quarter to keep the ball in Utah’s possession after WSU made it a four-point game. The Utes went on to grind the clock down and get out of dodge with a crazy dub in their pocket.

Michelle Bodkin is the Utah Utes Insider for KSLsports.com and host of both the Crimson Corner Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and The Saturday Show (Saturday from 10 a.m.–12 p.m.) on The KSL Sports Zone. Follow her on Twitter, Instagram, and Threads: @BodkinKSLsports

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