Utah Football: 3 takeaways from crucial Pac-12 win at Washington

Utah football looked in danger of falling out of playoff contention, but it survived a trip to Seattle in a narrow Pac-12 victory over Washington.

Washington pushed Utah throughout the first half, going into the locker room with a 14-13 lead at halftime. The Huskies looked like the preseason Pac-12 contender everyone thought they could be, with a strong defense buoyed by a dangerous offense and buttressed by special teams acumen all around.

But they came out of their home locker room flat in the second half, and Utah pulled away for a 33-28 victory on Saturday afternoon in Seattle. That ensured the Utes will be in the top 10 of the College Football Playoff selection committee rankings when they release the first list of contenders on Tuesday evening.

Kyle Whittingham’s team kept the Pac-12 alive in the hunt for one of the four lucrative and elusive berths in the playoff semifinal bracket. If they continue to win out, and Oregon does the same in the North, the two teams have a great shot of setting up a play-in game into the College Football Playoff.

With their win, Utah did their part to keep that dream alive. Here are three things we learned about the Utes and the Huskies in this interdivisional thriller in Washington.