Washington State 28, Utah 27

[September 29, 2014]  Washington State 28, Utah 27: Connor Halliday threw for 417 yards and four touchdowns, including an 81-yard TD pass to Vince Mayle with 4:58 remaining, and the visiting Cougars rallied from an early 21-point deficit to upset the Utes.

Halliday completed 39-of-61 passes with two interceptions and Dom Williams and Mayle had two touchdowns apiece for Washington State (2-3, 1-1 Pac-12), which trailed 21-0 at the end of the first quarter. River Cracraft had nine catches for 126 yards and Mayle added eight receptions for 120 yards to help the Cougars record their second straight win over the Utes.

Devontae Booker rushed 24 times for a career-high 178 yards and a score for Utah (3-1, 0-1), which was unable to build on last Saturday’s 26-10 victory at Michigan and lost its fourth straight Pac-12 opener. Travis Wilson was 18-of-38 for 165 yards while Kaelin Clay had 65 receiving yards and returned a punt 58 yard for a score.

Booker’s 76-yard touchdown run put the Utes ahead 21-0 before Washington State began its comeback with Halliday’s 35-yard TD pass to Dom Williams midway through the second quarter. Andy Phillips closed the first half with a 46-yard field goal to give Utah a 24-7 advantage at the break.

Halliday connected with Mayle on an 11-yard TD pass at the six-minute mark in the third quarter, but the Cougars trailed 27-14 after Phillips opened the fourth quarter with a 43-yard field goal. Halliday took over from that point with a 20-yard TD pass to Williams before capping the comeback with his second strike to Mayle.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Halliday became Washington State’s all-time leader in completions (861) and touchdowns (78). … Utah LB Gionni Paul recorded his second interception in as many games for Utah, which lost despite forcing three turnovers. … Washington State, which lost to Rutgers, Nevada and No. 4 Oregon, recorded 27 first downs and had 495 yards of total offense.

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