Micah Bernard rushed for a career-best 182 yards, helping No. 12 Utah hold off a fourth-quarter comeback to defeat No. 14 Oklahoma State 22-19 on Saturday in their first Big 12 game after moving from the Pac-12.
Brant Kuithe scored two touchdowns, and Cole Becker made three field goals for Utah (4-0, 1-0 Big 12).
Freshman Isaac Wilson stepped in for injured starter Cam Rising, throwing for 207 yards and a touchdown while adding 41 rushing yards. Rising warmed up but did not play.
Oklahoma State’s Alan Bowman, who was benched after a tough first half, returned midway through the fourth quarter. He threw for two touchdowns and two 2-point conversions, helping the Cowboys (3-1, 0-1) narrow Utah’s lead to three points.
“Made that more dramatic than we needed to, but we handled it well and got the win,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. “Proud of our guys. Didn’t always play as smart as we needed to. Had a chance to put the game away completely, let them back in it.”
Utah ran 81 plays compared to Oklahoma State’s 59 and controlled the ball for more than 42 minutes.
“The defense was on the field all day, which made it extremely difficult for them, honestly,” Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said. “I thought they played really well. You can only be out there so much. It made it really difficult.”
Bowman, who was 8 of 22 for 89 yards in the first half, ended with 206 yards and two interceptions. Sophomore Garret Rangel played during the third quarter and part of the fourth before Bowman came back with 9:26 left and the Cowboys behind 16-3.
“Offensively, we were awful,” Gundy said. “We couldn’t get any quarterback play, and then all of a sudden, late in the game we start playing better at quarterback. They won the game, but we certainly did a lot of things to help them.”
Utah limited Oklahoma State’s Ollie Gordon II to just 42 rushing yards. Gordon won the Doak Walker Award last season for the best running back in the nation.
