Utah Brings Oregon State Back Down to Earth, 42-9

SALT LAKE CITY —  The bottom fell out on Oregon State on Saturday night, as the Beavers were routed by Utah, 42-9.

Things were looking up for Coach Jerry Pettibone’s Beavers after they beat Fresno State, 46-26, and then tied Arizona, 14-14.

But they are now 1-2-1 after Frank Dolce completed 24 of 33 passes for 403 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Utes (2-1) to an impressive victory.

Dolce threw three touchdown passes in the first half as Utah built 21-0 lead.

In the first quarter, Dolce hooked up with Sean Williams for a 36-yard pass-play touchdown and thew a 22-yard strike to Gregg Hooks. With 3:47 left in the half, Dolce again passed to Williams on a 28-yard corner pattern.

The Utes’ defense got the better of the Beavers’ heralded Wishbone running attack, holding them to 130 yards on the ground in the first half and minus four yards passing.

Utah, meanwhile, racked up 303 yards of total offense in the first two quarters--257 of those yards off Dolce’s arm. For the game, the Utes had 527 yards offense to Oregon State’s 312, 273 of which came on the ground.

The Beavers finally scored when Jamie Burke kicked a 34-yard field goal early in the third quarter.

The Utes quickly retaliated with a eight-play, 80-yard drive with Dolce capping the march with an 18-yard touchdown pass to David Kozlowski.