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Running back John White had not had much success for the Utah Utes against their new rivals in the Pac-12 Conference this season, frequently encountering stacked defensive fronts and getting shut down before he could get going.
But that all changed against Oregon State.
The junior running back enjoyed arguably his best game of the season, rushing for a season-high 205 yards — most by a Ute in nearly a decade — and a touchdown on 35 carries in a 27-8 victory Saturday, as the Utes made it a priority to establish the run against a susceptible defense and take pressure off overmatched quarterback Jon Hays.
"We just went downhill on them," White said. "We wanted it. We took it and snatched it away. We wanted to run the ball, and we did."
It didn't hurt that the Beavers were banged up on the defensive line, and unwilling to so frequently load the box with extra defenders the way previous opponents did against the Utes.
That "opened up a lot of breathing room for us," coach Kyle Whittingham said, while offensive tackle John Cullen said the Utes were more familiar with the 4-3 defensive scheme the Beavers played.
"We saw in previous games, other teams have been having success running the ball on them, especially the power and the zone we were hitting them with," Cullen said.
"So that was definitely our game plan. And if you give John White the ball, good things are going to happen."
Oh, good things did.
With the Utes focused on a conservative strategy in an effort to avoid exposing Hays or taking unnecessary risks, White carried 18 times for 161 yards in the first half alone — including a breathtaking, tackle-breaking, 60-yard dash down the left sideline that set up the touchdown that gave the Utes a 24-0 halftime lead.
"That was a crazy run," he said. "I would have liked to score, but we punched it in, anyway."
White became the first Utah player to rush for 200 yards since Marty Johnson rolled up 229 yards against Indiana in 2002, and made the Utes the fourth team to gash the Beavers for at least 200 rushing yards this season.
Things went so well that even White's fumble deep in Utah territory in the fourth quarter was only barely damaging, leading to a mere safety after the Beavers fumbled the ball back on the Utah 1-yard line.
"Everybody else had a good game," White said, "and when everybody has a good game, we have a great game."
Breakout game
Utah's John White had averaged only 54 rushing yards against league foes, until meeting Oregon State:
Opponent Att Yards TD
USC 20 56 1
Washington 14 35 0
Arizona State 17 85 1
California 15 39 1
Oregon State 35 205 1 —
Busted Beavers
Four teams have rushed for at least 200 yards on Oregon State this season:
Opponent Att Yards Result
Wisconsin 43 208 L, 35-0
UCLA 49 211 L, 27-19
Brigham Young 48 282 L, 38-28
Utah 44 225 L, 27-8