This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2010, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Utah's DeVonte Christopher made his cut to the inside, caught the ball just about on the big red U at midfield at Rice-Eccles Stadium, and couldn't believe what he saw in front of him.Absolutely nothing.Without a defender in sight, the sophomore receiver raced 61 yards right up the middle for a crucial fourth-quarter touchdown that helped the Utes start their final season in the Mountain West Conference with an important but nerve-wracking 27-24 overtime victory over No. 15 Pitt on Thursday night. It was the first career touchdown for Christopher, who caught only two passes last season while playing mostly on special teams."You don't know how bad I wanted to come out here and play like this," he said. "I've just been working hard this summer, and hard work pays off."While a group of hot young receivers generated a lot of excitement for the Utes during the preseason, it was the more experienced veterans who made the biggest splash against the Panthers.All three touchdowns went to Christopher and fellow senior Jereme Brooks, the team's second-leading receiver last season. What's more, both players made big plays to help set up scores by the other, and Brooks hauled in a long pass that led to a field goal."We're not going nowhere," Brooks said. "We've been here for years. We know how the program works, and we've been through the ups and the downs. We just make plays at big times and just get the wins."In all, Christopher caught eight passes for 155 yards - both career-highs - and his long touchdown gave the Utes a 24-13 lead that appeared to seal the victory, until the Panthers struck back less than a minute later with a shocking long touchdown pass of their own to set up a dramatic finish.Meanwhile, Brooks caught five passes for 87 yards and the other two Utah touchdowns.The first looked a lot like Christopher's score, only shorter, with quarterback Jordan Wynn finding him all alone down the middle of the field for a 19-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Brooks added his second touchdown on a little 3-yard down-and-out before halftime, after Christopher had fueled the drive with a 24-yard reception down the left side.All but 41 of Wynn's 283 passing yards went to his top two targets, suggesting that without their experienced veterans, the Utes might have been sunk. Brooks also hauled in a 46-yard pass across the middle after a Pittsburgh defender fell trying to cover him, leading to a third-quarter field goal."Jordan was throwing the ball to us," Brooks said, "and we just had to make plays."And they just did.No play was bigger than the fourth-quarter touchdown, either, which suggested that Christopher finally has enjoyed the kind of breakout performance about which he has dreamed for so long."We knew coming in that we had a chance to get good yardage on that play," Christopher said. "But when I caught it, and I saw all that open field, I knew I just had to go get it." mcl@sltrib.com —
One-two punch
Receivers DeVonte Christopher and Jereme Brooks were big for the Utes against Pitt:
Player Rec. Yards TD
DeVonte Christopher 8 155 1
Jereme Brooks 5 87 2
All other receivers 8 41 0