SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Bryce Love ran for 152 yards and a touchdown as Stanford defeated No. 20 Utah 23-20 on Saturday night, handing the Utes their first loss of the season.
Utah bottled up the nation's leading rusher for most of the night, but the Cardinal (4-2, 3-1 Pac-12) faithfully continued to give their star the ball. On his 18th touch, the 5-foot-10, 196-pound speedster made two defenders miss in the hole and ran away for a 68-yarder that put the Cardinal up 23-13 with 12:02 remaining.
Utah (4-1, 1-1) stormed down the field on the ensuing possession with Troy Williams hitting Darren Carrington for big gains, but an interception essentially ended the game.
The Utes had moved to the Stanford 30 and Williams was about to be sacked when he threw the ball up downfield. Quenton Meeks picked off the fluttering pass and allowed Stanford to work more time off the clock.
Williams threw another interception to Justin Reid with 5:52 remaining.
Keller Chryst threw for 106 yards and ran for a touchdown for Stanford. The senior got the start after missing last week with an undisclosed injury. He began the season as the starter, but was hurt two weeks ago against UCLA, and sophomore K.J. Costello helped lead the team to its first two Pac-12 wins. Both played Saturday and Costello threw for 82 yards.
Williams completed 20 of 39 passes for 238 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Utah running back Moss had 79 rushing yards and a touchdown on 15 carries, and Carrington had 99 yards and a touchdown on seven receptions. Sunia Tauteoli had 11 tackles and 3 1/2 for loss for Utah.
Stanford led 13-10 at halftime after Jet Toner hit a 46-yard field goal with 6 seconds remaining in the half. The Cardinal didn't have a turnover and put the game away with the two interceptions.