This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

The University of Utah's offense wasn't explosive or unstoppable Saturday night against Oregon State.

Led by quarterback Jon Hays, however, the Utes did just what coach Kyle Whittingham wanted at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

They were opportunistic, efficient and nearly mistake-free.

As a result, Utah rolled to a 27-8 victory over Oregon State, snapping a four-game Pac-12 losing streak.

"We're not asking the offense to go out and score 40 points," Whittingham said. "We're asking them to possess the ball and not put the defense in bad spots. They did exactly that."

While building a 24-0 halftime lead, Utah piled up 235 yards of offense. Hays completed 5 of 10 passes for 57 yards and two touchdowns.

In the second half, the Utes weren't as productive, thanks to miserable field position and more of a milk-the-clock attack.

In the end, though, Hays enjoyed his best outing of the season.

"The offense did some good things in the first half," Whittingham said. "We slowed down in the second half. ... But the thing we didn't do was turn the ball over excessively."

Asked about Hays, Whittingham smiled and said, "He managed the game. That's the best way to put it. He did a nice job.

"We didn't put a lot on his plate. That was the plan — scale things back, give him fewer things to think about and fewer reads to make. And it paid off."

Hays' 35-yard scoring pass to Dres Anderson gave Utah a 10-0 lead with 7:04 left in the first half. With 24 seconds remaining, he hit DeVonte Christopher for a 3-yard touchdown.

"I couldn't be prouder of the offense," said Hays, who took some blame for Utah's lack of second-half production.

"We were just trying to be smart with the ball — eliminate the turnovers. Some of it was probably my fault. I could have made some more plays. But we hung in there and made plays when we needed to."

In recent losses to Cal and Arizona State, Hays threw six interceptions.

The only turnover against Oregon State: John White's fumble in the fourth quarter.

"We've just got to keep progressing," Hays said. "We've got a great defense. We just have to keep the turnovers to a minimum [because] they are going to keep us in any game with any team in the nation."

He credited offensive coordinator Norm Chow with putting him in position to be successful.