Utah Utes football: Tough Wynn

Another blackout, another dramatic finish at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

And as was the case last year against TCU, the Utah Utes found a way to prevail in the end — much to the delight of a Halloween crowd. This time they rallied to defeat Wyoming, 22-10.

"We don't like to leave it up to drama," said linebacker Stevenson Sylvester. "But it makes a good story."

Storylines were plentiful in this one. The Utes changed play-callers and quarterbacks on the way to improving to 7-1 overall and 4-0 in Mountain West Conference.

"We just wanted to create a spark," said Utah coach Kyle Whittingham.

Trailing 10-9 with 10:34 left to play, Utah embarked upon what proved to be the game-winning drive. The Utes did so with true freshman Jordan Wynn, who replaced Terrance Cain to start the second half, manning the controls at quarterback.

"It was a lot of fun," Wynn said. "I'll tell you that."

After moving the team into scoring position, Wynn connected with Jereme Brooks on a 22-yard touchdown pass to give the Utes their first lead of the game with just 7:35 remaining.

Utah's defense then continued its second-half dominance by ending Wyoming's next two drives with an interception by R.J. Stanford and a failed fourth-down conversion. The latter gave the Utes possession on the Cowboys' 9-yard line with just under two minutes to go. They cashed in 12 seconds later on a 5-yard run by Eddie Wide.

It capped another successful night for the running back, who tied a school record with his fifth consecutive 100-yard game. He wound up with a game-high 135 yards on 24 carries.

Just before kickoff, Utah announced that offensive coordinator Dave Schramm would be on the sideline coaching the quarterbacks and receivers coach Aaron Roderick would be in the press box calling plays.

Whittingham explained that they wanted Schramm's "fire and intensity" on the sideline and that Roderick did a nice job calling plays.

"It really is a team effort. We collaborate on the game plan and (Schramm) still has the final call," Whittingham said. "We're just trying to get into a rhythm on offense."

The change failed to produce an immediate impact on the scoreboard, however.

The Utes didn't score in the first quarter and managed just a 43-yard field goal by Joe Phillips in the second quarter.