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It's fourth down, 7 seconds to go.

Travis Wilson takes the snap. He rolls right. He heaves it deep … through the back of the end zone.

But Utah wins.

And the crowd goes, "Huh?"

It may have seemed like an oddball scrimmage to the fans in attendance Saturday, without the context that for Utah, three of the series were a replay of its Sept. 27 loss to Washington State.

On this particular drive, Utah was up 27-21 late in the fourth quarter, and its job was to kill the clock. Following three downs in victory formation — not the most exciting viewing experience — Wilson needed to improvise for 7 more seconds.

Hence, the highlight-reel incompletion.

It was a second spring scrimmage that was heavy on situational work, and coach Kyle Whittingham called it a "dead heat" between the offense and defense, even though Wilson and Chase Hansen combined to go 18-of-34 for 147 yards and no touchdowns, and Utah's offense averaged just over 3.5 yards per carry.

"When Devontae Booker's in there, it's a whole different ballgame," Whittingham said. "We're not panicking by any stretch. We feel like we've made good progress with the offense, and then we add the two or three wide receivers that will not be here until June to the mix, we should have a pretty good group."

Walk-on running back Tani Leha'uli received the bulk of the No. 1 carries and rushed 15 times for 61 yards while Booker watched from the safety of the sidelines. Senior wideout Kenneth Scott caught five passes for 44 yards. And three of Scott's clutch grabs set up Jon Halliday for a 47-yard "game-winning" field goal that bounced off the crossbar and over.

Observers seemed to agree that the defense won the day, but defensive coordinator John Pease was displeased that they weren't able to get a stop as Utah-cum-Washington State.

He blamed himself for not making more aggressive calls.

But on the bright side, he said, "We don't have to be really good until September 3."

After a sack in the first scrimmage, sophomore linebacker Uaea Masina was credited with a fumble recovery and 2.5 tackles for a loss Saturday. Junior defensive end Hayden Clegg also earned two sacks, albeit against quarterbacks who weren't live.

Both Hansen and Wilson ran successfully even though a tap was all that was needed to count them as down: Hansen with eight carries for 47 yards and Wilson with eight carries for 44 yards.

Not reflected on the stat sheet is the play of Conner Manning and the No. 3 offense. Manning was surpassed by Hansen earlier this spring, but he made the most of a few late snaps, hitting Chase Loftin in stride down the left sideline and then connecting with Bo Kimball across the middle for the day's only passing touchdown.

"I really appreciate the way he's handled a tough situation," said co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Aaron Roderick. "It would have been easy for him to pout or not be ready today, but he did a good job being ready, and when he came in, he made the most of his opportunity, for sure."

Roderick said Michigan will be "Game 14" for this offense, and he's excited about where they stand right now, especially given that the offensive coaches aren't trying to trick anybody right now. They're honing a handful of runs and passes that they can rely upon throughout the season, he said.

Said Scott: "Defense knows everything we're running, but that's the beauty of it. … If we are beating the defense and they know what we're doing, that means we're on a good track."

All that said, Whittingham's standout was Utah's special teams: Utah's coverage downed several punts inside the 5 — including a smooth play from junior receiver Delshawn McClellon to bat a Tom Hackett punt out of the end zone to senior linebacker Jared Norris — and Halliday and Andy Phillips combined to go 4-for-4 on field goals.

Twitter: @matthew_piper —

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Walk-on running back Tani Leha'uli, a redshirt freshman from Granger High, carries a big load. › http://www.sltrib.com/sports

Utah scrimmage stats

Passing • Travis Wilson, 11-18, 67 yards; Chase Hansen, 7-16, 80 yards

Receiving • Loomis, 2 catches, 45 yards; Scott, 5 catches, 44 yards; Leha'uli, 5 catches, 21 yards; Seabrook, 2 catches, 19 yards; Handley, 2 catches, 13 yards; Field, 1 catch, 3 yards; Poole, 1 catch, 3 yards

Rushing • Leha'uli, 15 carries, 61 yards; Hansen, 8 carries, 47 yards; Wilson, 8 carries, 44 yards, 1 TD; Seabrook, 10 carries, 21 yards; Fletcher, 11 carries, 19 yards

Field goals • Halliday good from 52, 47; Phillips good from 25, 47

Defensive standouts • Masina: 1 fumble recovery, 2.5 tackles for loss; Clegg: two sacks; J. Whittingham: 1 forced fumble, 1 pass breakup; Eggiman: 1 tackle for loss, 1 pass breakup; Tauteoli: 1.5 tackles for loss