TUCSON, Ariz. — Utah’s day began with a morning flight that left a day late.
It ended with a wild win that leaves the Utes with a clear path to the College Football Playoff.
Devon Dampier hit Creed Whittemore on a 70-yard touchdown pass with 2:35 left, Daniel Bray ran for 197 yards, and No. 2 Utah remained undefeated with a wild 40-39 victory over No. 23 Arizona early Sunday.
The Utes (10-0, 7-0 Big 12) didn’t arrive in Tucson until just after noon because of the FAA ground stop Friday and got off to a slow start, falling into an early 11-point hole in a game pushed back three hours to 10:30 p.m. ET.
Dampier led Utah back, pulling out a win filled with obstacles — on the field and off — to stretch the Utes’ winning streak to 16 games over two seasons.
“Our culture is no excuses. We live by it,” Dampier said. “No one’s going to feel sorry for us if we would’ve lost this game, so that was just kind of the mindset.”
The Wildcats (7-3, 4-3) pulled off a midnight miracle against TCU last week and found themselves in another late-night game against the highest-ranked opponent to play in Tucson since No. 2 Oregon in 2007.
A wild back-and-forth second half reminiscent of the Pac-12 After Dark days came down to which of the star quarterbacks could come through.
Arizona’s Noah Fifita did his part, throwing for 356 yards and three touchdowns. He hit Isaiah Mizell on two touchdowns, the second a 10-yarder that put Arizona up 39-33 with just over three minutes left.
“To me, this night, the way it went start to finish, speaks to our belief, our resilience and our response,” Arizona coach Brent Brennan said. “The way our guys responded all night I thought was really, really special.”
Dampier was just better.
He answered Fifita’s last touchdown pass with his 70-yard pass to Whittemore, and Utah’s defense sealed the victory with a fourth-down stop, stretching the Utes’ conference winning streak to 12 straight games.
Dampier finished with 204 yards and two passing touchdowns, but he also threw an interception and lost a fumble. He ran for 100 yards and two more scores to put the Utes in prime position to reach the Big 12 title game and the CFP.
“What a crazy game,” Utah coach Morgan Scalley said. “We knew this wasn’t going to be an easy one.”
Utah’s players had to endure a long Friday during the FAA shutdown but did get a chance to sleep in their own beds.
Everyone was on time for the morning flight and, after a toast of cheribundi antioxidant juice on the plane, arrived in Tucson unnerved by the obstacles.
“It was like a high school game, honestly, taking it back to Friday nights,” said Whittemore, who had five catches for 92 yards. “It was just like getting on a bus and going and playing a game like in high school.”
