The Sports Xchange
Sep 17, 2017
Darren Carrington caught two first-half touchdown passes Saturday night and added a third one in the fourth quarter as Utah established a 30-3 first-half lead and cruised to a 54-16 nonconference win over San Jose State at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City.
Carrington scored on second-quarter receptions of 7 and 26 yards from Tyler Huntley as the Utes (3-0) blew the game open by scoring 24 unanswered points. Zack Moss added a 5-yard touchdown run to cap a 21-point quarter for Utah.
Huntley got going after a sluggish start, completing 30 of 43 passes for 341 yards and three touchdowns. He found Rae Singleton with a 13-yard scoring strike with 2:36 remaining in the third quarter, upping the margin to 37-13, and then hit Carrington with a 15-yard pass at the 11:21 mark of the fourth quarter.
Carrington, an Oregon transfer, finished with nine catches for 153 yards. Kicker Matt Gay added field goals of 21, 56, 50 and 20 yards as Utah ended the night with 501 total yards and 29 first downs.
Bailey Gaither was the Spartans' star offensively, catching eight passes for 125 yards and a touchdown. His 47-yard scoring grab with 46 seconds left in the first half drew San Jose State (1-3) within 30-13 at halftime.
Kicker Bryce Crawford tacked on field goals of 24, 51 and 38 yards for the Spartans, stretching his streak of made field goals to 15 in a row.
Josh Love completed 13 of 25 passes for 183 yards and a touchdown for San Jose State. He played most of the last three quarters at quarterback. Starter Montel Aaron was sidelined late in the first quarter with a knee injury and backup Sam Allen tossed two interceptions in his five passes.
The Spartans committed five turnovers that the Utes converted into 27 points.