SALT LAKE CITY _ Some 90 minutes before kickoff, they met at the 35-yard line on the Huskies' side of the field, old friends making up for lost time.
Utah quarterback Troy Williams, shiny gold Beats headphones around his neck, came over and joyfully greeted several Washington players. UW senior cornerback Kevin King then approached, sharing a long embrace with the quarterback. They laughed and smiled, smiled and laughed.
They met again near midfield a few hours later, exchanging pleasantries in the moments after the No. 4 Huskies survived their toughest challenge of the season in 31-24 victory over No. 17 Utah before a red-clad, sold-out crowd of 47,801 at Rice-Eccles Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
With the score tied at 24-24, UW's Dante Pettis returned a punt 58 yards for the winning score with 3:25 remaining to keep the Huskies (8-0, 5-0 Pac-12) undefeated and in the College Football Playoff chase.
The Huskies defense, having shut down Williams, their former UW teammate, in the first half, then got the big defensive stop they needed in the final minute as Williams' fourth-down pass sailed out of the end zone.
Utah kept it close thanks to another big game from running back Joe Williams _ and two costly personal foul penalties from UW linebacker Azeem Victor that helped give the Utes (7-2, 4-2) their first two touchdowns.
After a slow start, Troy Williams tormented his former teammates in the second half. He threw two touchdown passes in the second half, including a well-placed 24-yard strike to tied end Evan Moeai that beat King and safety Jojo McIntosh and tied the score at 24-24 with 9:07 remaining.
Victor was flagged for an unsportsmanlike penalty in the second quarter after the Huskies stuffed Troy Williams for a loss on third-and-goal. That gave a first down to the Utes, who scored two plays later.
The Huskies had another third-and-goal stop negated in the third quarter when Victor was flagged for a face-mask penalty on Joe Williams. Troy Williams made the Huskies pay, finding Siaosi Wilson in the right side of the end zone for a 6-yard touchdown pass to give Utah its first lead of the game at 17-14 with 8:17 left in the third quarter.
That was just the second time UW trailed all season _ and the first time it has trailed in the second half.
Jake Browning, Myles Gaskin and the UW offense answered with a surgical drive, marching 75 yards on six plays, capped by John Ross' circus catch from Browning in the back of the end zone. That gave the Huskies a 21-17 lead with 2:41 left in the third quarter.
The Huskies had a built a 14-0 first-half lead on Gaskin's 10-yard touchdown run and Browning's 16-yard pass to Ross.
Gaskin was terrific, rushing for 151 yards on 19 carries.
UW defenders got a hand on Troy Williams' first three passes _ with Budda Baker dropping a sure pick-six and McIntosh nearly coming up with a diving interception. Utah's QB was 5 for 15 for 25 yards in the first half, but made up for that with a strong second half. He finished 14 of 31 for 163 yards with two touchdowns and no turnovers.
