No. 12 Utah wins Big 12 debut, beating No. 14 Oklahoma State 22-19

College Football

Published Sep. 21, 2024 8:32 p.m. ET

Micah Bernard rushed for a career-high 182 yards, and No. 12 Utah withstood a fourth-quarter comeback to beat No. 14 Oklahoma State 22-19 on Saturday in the Utes’ first Big 12 game after leaving the Pac-12.

Brant Kuithe scored two touchdowns and Cole Becker kicked three field goals for Utah (4-0, 1-0).

Freshman Isaac Wilson passed for 207 yards and a touchdown and ran for 41 yards in place of injured Utes starter Cam Rising, who warmed up but didn’t play.

Oklahoma State’s Alan Bowman, benched after an ineffective first half, returned midway through the fourth quarter and passed for two touchdowns and two 2-point conversions to help Oklahoma State (3-1, 0-1) trim Utah’s lead to three points.

Bowman, who was 8 of 22 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.

Utah held Oklahoma State’s Ollie Gordon II to 42 yards rushing. Gordon won the Doak Walker Award for the nation’s best running back last season.

Utah turned the ball over three times in the first half but still led 10-3. Cowboys safety Trey Rucker intercepted Wilson twice. The Utes’ defense limited Oklahoma State to 119 yards and five first downs. Gordon carried the ball six times for 16 yards before the break.

The teams traded field goals before Utah forced a punt and drove 64 yards in 11 plays for the only touchdown of the first half. Kuithe scored on a direct snap from the 1-yard line.

The takeaway

Utah: The Utes played without starters Connor O’Toole and Karene Reid on defense, but they still took away Gordon and Bowman. Utah limited Oklahoma State to 285 yards and forced eight punts.

Oklahoma State: The Cowboys nearly completed the comeback, but couldn’t stop Bernard late, and the Utes ran out the clock.