El Paso, Texas ? Bowl games are supposed to be the culmination of a season?s worth of experiences. How fitting, then, for the Utah Utes to experience a wild range of emotions and performances Saturday in rallying to stun Georgia Tech 30-27 in overtime at the Sun Bowl.
The Utes (8-5) overcame a 24-10 deficit in the fourth quarter to claim the Pac-12?s first bowl win and put a capper on what was a wild season.
Just like the regular season, Saturday?s contest had the Utes down, forcing them to overcome long odds to battle back. Just like the regular season, it was running back John White who was the hero of the day, as he scored on an 8-yard run in overtime to give the Utes the win.
White finished the game with 26 carries for 115 yards, giving him the single-season school rushing record with 1,529 yards. The Utes finished the year 8-0 when he broke the 100-yard mark.
"I knew they were going to give me the ball," White said of his last run, which clinched the Sun Bowl MVP award. "I just looked to the left, saw them signal ?touchdown,? and I knew we had won."
That the Utes came back from a 14-point deficit was fitting for a team that started the year 0-4 in conference play, then won four in a row to put itself in position to reach the Pac-12 championship game.
That hope ended when the Utes lost to Colorado, but beating the Yellow Jackets Saturday, in front of 48,123 fans, gave the Utes something to feel good about in the offseason.
"It was a microcosm of our entire year," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. "We stumbled out of the gate 0-4 and showed resiliency and toughness and character, and the same thing happened in this game. We were down 14 points but never had an ounce of quit in these guys. They kept believing and the coaches kept believing, and we found a way to win in the end."
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The overtime win was made possible thanks to a wild finish in regulation.
DeVonte Christopher, the special teams player of the game, caught a 28-yard pass on fourth down with 1:32 remaining to tie it, 24-24.
"The ball was in the air, and I just had to get it," Christopher said. "That is how we do things: We battle injuries and setbacks, and we find ways to win. This was big, real big."
Georgia Tech (8-5) drove the ball down the field with quarterback Tevan Washington working the clock and the sidelines well. However, the Yellow Jackets? hopes of a win came up short when a 48-yard field goal attempt was just shy.
Once in overtime, Utah?s defense held Georgia Tech to a field goal, making the Utes? last rally possible.
Just like the second half of the season, everyone in the stands seemed to know White was going to get the ball. Just like many of those games, no one could stop him as he bulldozed his way into the end zone.
As soon as White scored he was enveloped in the end zone by teammates who did a better job of tackling him than the Yellow Jackets did.
"You can?t say enough about John White," quarterback Jon Hays said. "When he got the ball, we knew it was over."
Next Page ?Source: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/utes/53209959-89/utes-win-game-season.html.csp
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