SANTA CLARA, Calif. _ It was an appropriate way for Washington to score the Pac-12 championship's first touchdown.
With the game tied 3-3 late in the third quarter, Utah quarterback Jason Shelley launched a pass intended for Saiosi Mariner along the sideline. Mariner slid in an attempt to make the catch, but bobbled the ball. It bounced off his ankle and landed in the hands of Husky defensive back Byron Murphy, who returned it 66-yards for a touchdown.
Then, on Utah's next offensive possession, Jordan Miller intercepted Shelley at UW's 6-yard line. While defense ruled for both teams at Levi's Stadium on Friday night, it was the Huskies' three second-half interceptions that gave them the late advantage.
Murphy's touchdown gave the Huskies a 10-3 victory at Levi's Stadium.
Leading by a touchdown in the third quarter, UW put together a 17-play, 73-yard drive that lasted 10 minutes and 3 seconds. It ended with a 38-yard field-goal attempt from Peyton Henry, but it was blocked. Utah took over at its 21-yard line with 5:10 left in the game.
But Murphy came up big again, intercepting Shelley again along the sideline to return the ball to the Huskies at Utah's 36-yard line with 4:27 left in the game. His second interception tied the Pac-12 championship game record set by Taylor Rapp in 2016
No. 10 UW and the No. 17 Utes entered the game with the conference's top two defenses, and it showed. The Huskies were allowing 16.5 points and 311.3 yards per game, while Utah was allowing 19.3 points and 315.8 yards per game.
The Huskies led just 3-0 at halftime, although it seemed like they should've been ahead by more. They controlled time of possession 19:53 to 10:07 in the first half. The Utes had just 61 total yards at the break, and the Huskies had more tackles for loss (four) than Utah had first downs (three).
UW's offense was rolling in comparison: 162 total yards, 10 first downs, 4.2 yards per play compared to Utah's 2.9.
On their first offensive possession of the second half, the Utes tied the score 3-3 on a 53-yard field goal from Matt Gay that just cleared the crossbar.
