Utah News

SAN FRANCISCO – The Warriors had every reason to toss Monday night’s home game against the young, tall and spry Jazz into a growing pile of “scheduled losses.”

After losing three straight, Golden State was without several key members of its frontcourt. Jonathan Kuminga was out with knee soreness for the sixth game in a row. Al Horford (sciatica) will be reevaluated at the end of the week.

Draymond Green was held out with a foot injury sustained during Friday’s loss to the Blazers. 

But after going down big early, an energized lineup rallied for a much-needed 134-117 victory thanks to a relentless 21-0 run to begin the second quarter.

Steph Curry scored 29, while Jimmy Butler put in 18 and dished out seven assists. Gary Payton II, starting at power forward, had his best game of the season: Nine points, six rebounds and a career-high eight assists. And the Jazz’s vaunted size advantage? It never materialized. The Warriors outrebounded Utah 48-47. Keyonte George led the Jazz with 28 points, and highly touted rookie Ace Bailey scored a career-high 21.

Golden State used all 11 of its active players by the early second quarter in a matchup that was truly a game of runs. Utah began the game up 11-0, and then the Warriors embarked on a 15-3 jolt to answer. And once Utah went on a flurry to end the first quarter up 35-26, Golden State answered.

If ever there were a time for a Kumbaya moment between the two biggest college fan bases in the state of Utah, it would be now.

It’s never going to happen. A cease fire in the Holy War, the nickname for the vitriolic BYU-Utah rivalry, wouldn’t hold for even a second.

But wouldn’t it be neat if both sides could step back, show a little Beehive State pride and appreciate what the other side is doing on the football field this year? (Apologies to BYU and Utah fans who spit out their coffee while reading that sentence.)

This is the third straight week and ninth ever that the Cougars and Utes have been in the top 15 of The Associated Press poll simultaneously.

BYU is 10-1 and ranked No. 11. Utah is 9-2 and No. 14. Both have lost to Texas Tech. Utah’s other loss was to, well, you know who.

Still, this could turn out to be the best collective season for the schools in their more than 100 years of gridiron pursuits. The standard, to date, is 2008 when Utah beat Alabama in the Sugar Bowl to finish 13-0 and No. 2 in the poll and BYU started 10-1 before losing to the Cougars and in their bowl to end 10-3 and No. 25.

This year, if Utah wins one more game, both schools would have double-digit victories in the same season for the first time since 2021 and fifth time ever.

BYU will lock up a spot next week in the Big 12 championship game if it beats UCF at home Saturday. The Cougars could still get in even if they lose. Their first College Football Playoff bid is at stake if they can get to Arlington, Texas, and win, probably in a rematch with Texas Tech.

Utah, which finishes the regular season at Kansas, was No. 12 in the CFP rankings last week and could get docked for needing a Houdini act to get past a Kansas State team that rushed for 472 yards. The Utes are all but out of the Big 12 race and their CFP hopes are teetering, but an attractive bowl is there for the taking.

Lifelong Utahan Dick Harmon knows as well as anyone that the fan bases’ mutual disdain will never evolve into mutual respect. Harmon graduated from BYU and has covered Cougars sports for four decades for the Deseret News of Salt Lake City. He said there are good fans on both sides but they are drowned out by those who spew hatred.

“The fact they’re both in the top 15, that just causes everybody to have their own reasons for one-uppance on the other,” Harmon said Sunday. “Utah fans lost to BYU but they certainly feel because they’re scoring a million points a game that they should be right there, if not even ahead, of BYU. Their loss to BYU was close and maybe a fluke and should have gone the other way the last two years. It’s just back and forth all the time.”

Harmon, channeling BYU fans’ take on Utah, said, “Geez, look, you gave up a school-record (472) yards rushing to a bad Kansas State team. And we beat you and it should have been 24-14 or 17, not 24-21, if only this, if only that. We beat you a lot further than you think we did.”

For their part, Utah State fans are quietly enjoying what potentially will be their best season since the Aggies went 11-3 in 2021. Utah State is 6-5 and bowl eligible. And in case you were wondering if the Aggies, Cougars and Utes have ever been ranked at the same time, it happened once. Utah was No. 12, BYU was No. 19 and Utah State was No. 24 in the final 2021 poll.

Loquacious Lanning

Oregon coach Dan Lanning took a not-so-veiled shot at the SEC in his remarks following the Ducks’ 42-27 win over Southern California. While Oregon and the rest of the Big Ten were in the throes of conference games, three SEC teams played FCS opponents and three played Group of Five opponents. The SEC will begin playing nine conference games rather than eight next year.

“Played a good team. We beat them, right? All we can do next week is try to do the same thing, right? This conference is a really good conference. It’s competitive,” Lanning said. “We didn’t play Chattanooga State today, right? Like some other places. We competed.

“That being said, it’s tough playing nine conference games. It’s tough playing in this league. And we got to take advantage of playing a good team today and attacking that.”

Role reversal

Last year, Tennessee went to Nashville needing a win over Vanderbilt to secure a CFP at-large bid. This week, the Commodores go to Knoxville needing a win over Tennessee to keep alive its CFP at-large hopes. Vandy also would secure its first 10-win season with a victory.

Coach Clark Lea said he wants his team thinking only about the Volunteers, not what it will take to get a playoff spot. Lea did offer a tell about what he’s thinking when he was asked about quarterback Diego Pavia asking to stay in the game against Kentucky after it turned into a blowout Saturday.

“I said, ‘No, we’re aiming for a championship. I want you healthy for the playoffs.’ “

Extra points

No. 1 Ohio State’s 15-game win streak is longest in the Bowl Subdivision. The Buckeyes have held seven of their 11 opponents this season under 10 points. … No. 2 Texas A&M, with its 48-0 win over Samford, finished 7-0 at home for the first time. It was the first time A&M, excluding the 2020 pandemic season, was unbeaten at home since going 6-0 in 1999. … Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love is just the third player since 1996 to run for 170 or more yards and three touchdowns on just eight carries. Love, who had 178 yards and three TDs against Syracuse, is the first to do it since Cincinnati’s Desmond Ridder against SMU in 2020.

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AP Sports Writer Teresa M. Walker in Nashville, Tennessee, contrubuted to this report.

The post Utah Utes land 2026 QB recruit after UCF decommit appeared first on ClutchPoints.

Only a day after decommitting from UCF, Greenwood (Ark.) quarterback Kane Archer pledged to Utah following a weekend visit, telling Rivals’ Hayes Fawcett about his decision.

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A three-star prospect rated 0.8711 in the 247Sports composite rankings, Archer is the No. 971 overall player and the No. 53 quarterback nationally in the 2026 cycle. In his home state, the 6-foot-1, 205-pound dual-threat signal-caller ranks as the No. 16 recruit and the No. 12 player overall in Arkansas. The senior holds 24 scholarship offers, including from Michigan, Florida State, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, and his home-state Razorbacks.

Greenwood High’s football program has benefited greatly from Archer’s contributions. The Bulldogs are 11-0 this season and are two games away from claiming their third consecutive Arkansas 6A state championship, with a semifinal matchup against Benton High coming up. In the last three seasons, Greenwood has compiled a 37-0 record. Massey Ratings currently rank Greenwood as the No. 3 team in Arkansas.

Individually, Archer’s production has been exceptional. This season, he has completed 242 of 321 passes for 2,959 yards, 26 touchdowns, and four interceptions, while rushing 113 times for 1,022 yards and 24 touchdowns. His junior campaign in 2024 saw him complete 247 of 303 passes for 3,880 yards, 57 touchdowns, and two interceptions, along with 795 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns.

Over his high school career, Archer has started 43 games, throwing for 9,947 yards with 125 touchdowns against just 12 interceptions. On the ground, he has amassed 2,605 yards and 54 touchdowns, including 11 games with 100-plus rushing yards.

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Archer will join Utah’s 2026 class as the second quarterback, alongside three-star signal-caller Michael Johnson from Douglas County High in Georgia. Utah’s class currently features 16 verbal commitments, with 11 on offense. The offensive group is featured by five-star offensive tackle Kelvin Obot, the highest-rated prospect in Utah history, and includes wide receivers Jaron Pula and Kennan Pula, running back LaMarcus Bell, and tight end Bear Fisher. The defensive group includes linebacker Preston Pitts, linebacker LaGary Mitchell, cornerback Major Hinchen, and cornerback Dylan Waters, among others.

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The Oregon Ducks women’s basketball team looked to remain undefeated with the Utah State Aggies coming to town for a non-conference match-up. Here is how it went down.

The Ducks got off to a hot start starting the game on an 8-0 run to set the tone early.

The Aggies would push back though as they finished the 1st quarter on a 9-6 run to keep themselves into the game.

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The 2nd quarter would be back and forth with neither team going on a substantial run but Janiyah Williams would hit a pull up jumper in transition to start to extend the Ducks lead.

The Ducks would finish the 2nd half strong and take a 12 point lead into half-time.

After the break the Ducks came out on fire. Hitting their first 6 shots of the 2nd half and going on a 16-2 run, highlighted with this steal by Ari Long which lead to a Katie Fiso lay-in.

The Ducks would take a very comfortable 55-26 lead into the 4th quarter where from there it was elementary. The final score would finish at 70-34.

The full box score can be found here

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The leaders were:

• Katie Fiso & Sarah Rambus tied for the team high 13 points

• Mia Jacobs with a team high 7 rebounds

• Katie Fiso with a team high 6 assists

Team stats:

• Bench Points

  • Utah State 12

• Points in the pain

  • Utah State 24

• Fast break points

  • Utah State 2

• FG%

  • Oregon 43%

  • Utah State 26%

• FT%

  • Oregon 67%

  • Utah State 100%

• 3P%

  • Oregon 32%

  • Utah State 6%

• Turnovers

  • Utah State 29

Kelly Graves Post-Game

Sarah Rambus & Mia Jacobs Post-Game

The longer Kansas State football coach Chris Klieman tried to process a gut-wrenching 51-47 loss against Utah on Saturday at Rice-Eccles Stadium, the more emotional he got.

A victory would have clinched bowl eligibility for the Wildcats and given Klieman a signature win to crow about all weekend. Instead, his team suffered its latest painful loss in a season that has been defined by disappointing results.

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When he sat down at a table outside the visiting locker room and prepared to make his opening statement, he decided to share his unfiltered feelings on many different topics that have hung over this group all year. He spoke for three minutes, pausing at times to collect himself and even shed a few tears.

“I am heartbroken for the kids and for the loss,” Klieman said. “It’s one of the greatest efforts I’ve been a part of as a coach. It’s hard to say this, because we lost the game, but we’re down so many players. I know a lot of people thought we’d come over here and lay down, and that maybe the kids have cashed it in.”

Then anger took over.

“I’ve heard it enough,” Klieman said. “I’ve heard that I’ve cashed it in. I’ve heard the players have cashed it in and we need to get new leadership here. We need to get new players, new coaches. I’m tired of it. I have got to be honest with you, I’m tired of it. I have given my frigging ass life for this place for seven years. I have given everything for seven years. I think I deserve a little bit of respect.”

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It was surprising to hear Klieman acknowledge the fan complaints that have been made about him on message boards and social media this season.

But his popularity is beginning to dip in Manhattan. So much so that unfounded rumors have spread that he may consider retirement at the end of this season.

Klieman led the Wildcats to a Big 12 championship and an appearance in the Sugar Bowl during a dream 2022 season. But since then, K-State hasn’t been able to keep pace with the top of the conference. The Wildcats followed that campaign with consecutive nine-win seasons.

K-State was expected to contend for a Big 12 title again with a No. 17 preseason ranking this year. Now the Wildcats are 5-6 overall and 4-4 in the Big 12. They need to beat Colorado next week to achieve bowl eligibility for the sixth time in Klieman’s seven seasons.

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“I’m frustrated like everybody else is,” Klieman said. “But I love those kids. I will go to frigging battle with those kids any day.”

He was particularly proud of the way K-State rushed the ball against No. 13 Utah (9-2, 6-2 Big 12).

The Wildcats rushed for a school record 472 yards. Joe Jackson led the way with his own school record of 293 yards and three touchdowns behind a physical offensive line that opened holes for him all afternoon.

No one else has come close to putting up those numbers against a stingy Utah defense.

K-State played well enough to lead 31-21 at halftime and then 47-35 with 7 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. But Utah mounted a comeback in the final minutes.

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“That’s a top (15) team in the country with one of the best offenses in the country and one of the best defenses in the country,” Klieman said. “We rushed for 472 yards on them, because we told the guys we were going to commit to running the football. We told the guys to buy into it, believe in it. We are running the football against these guys, because nobody’s trying like we’re going to try it.

“And the kids bought into it. Kids don’t buy into it if they’ve given in. Kids don’t buy into it if they’re halfway out the door. Our kids bought into it, and we stuffed it down their throat the entire game running the football, and we lost.

“I’m crushed because of that, but I’m going to stand up here with frigging pride and say we’ve battled our ass off against a really good team. I’m crushed we lost the football game, but I’m more upset with …”

Klieman was unable to finish his train of thought.

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After a long stretch of silence in which he fought back tears, K-State athletic director Gene Taylor walked to the table and gave Klieman a hug.

“You ain’t going anywhere, brother,” Taylor told Klieman. “Understand that. I believe in you. We’ve got your back.”

Klieman was later asked if there was a specific reason why he reacted so emotionally after this loss.

“You guys know,” he said. “You guys all know.”

It will be interesting to see how K-State fans react to Klieman’s statement. They did not respond favorably last week when the Wildcats struggled during a 14-6 win over Oklahoma State and Klieman said he wasn’t going to apologize for the victory because “it’s dang hard to win” at Boone Pickens Stadium.

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Some were quick to point out that Oklahoma State hasn’t won a conference game in more than two calendar years.

But K-State quarterback Avery Johnson said he likes playing for Klieman.

“You want to be able to win a bunch of games, just because of how good of a person Coach Klieman is,” Johnson said, “and how creative a leader and a coach he is. … We love Coach Klieman to death and we laid out on the line for him tonight. It’s just tough coming up short.”