SALT LAKE CITY — Whichever way you slice it, this was a big night for Washington State’s defense.

In their 33-25 win over Utah at Rice-Eccles Stadium Saturday afternoon, the Cougars’ defense played its best game in Alex Grinch’s three years as defensive coordinator, forcing seven turnovers, sacking Utah quarterback Tyler Huntley seven times and tying a season-high with 11 tackles-for-loss.

WSU’s defensive effort earned the Cougars their ninth win and kept them in control of their own fate in the Pac-12 North title race. If they beat UW in the Apple Cup, WSU will advance to the title game.

Robert Taylor had an interception and forced a fumble, Hercules Mata’afa and Dan Ekuale each forced a fumble and Chima Onyeukwu had his first career pick to give WSU five turnovers forced for the first time since playing UCLA in 2003.

Yet, even with that inspired effort from the defense, the Cougars didn’t put the Utes away until the dying seconds of the fourth quarter, when — fittingly — the defense notched the seventh of its turnovers on Jalen Thompson’s interception of Huntley in the end zone.

WSU quarterback Luke Falk went 40 of 69 for 311 yards with threw touchdowns to set the Pac-12 career passing touchdowns record with 117.

But he also threw two interceptions with the second one coming at a bad time. With WSU holding off the Utes 33-25 and the offense driving, Falk was intercepted by Kenric Young at the Utes’ 13.

That gave Utah the ball with 3:03 to drive 87 yards. They managed only 39 yards before Nnamdi Oguayo batted at Huntley’s pass, and Onyeukwu — in the game only due to an injury to Dylan Hanser — caught the deflection at the WSU 48.

The pick gave WSU’s offense the ball back at the Utah 44 with less than a minute to play. Perplexingly, the Cougars couldn’t even manage to move the ball enough to run out the clock. WSU punted with 33 seconds left to give the Utes to drive 90 yards and tie the game.

Huntley reeled off a 32-yard run to get the Utes to WSU’s 46 with seven seconds left.

Until that point, WSU had managed only 16 points off the first four turnovers forced by the defense.

Despite starting two drives from within five yards of midfield, and three from Utah’s 19, 27 and 12 yard lines, the Cougars’ struggled to finish drives all afternoon.

Four of those five drives that WSU began with optimal field position resulted in field-goal attempts, and Erik Powell converted two of three, making field goals from 44, 32 and 28 yards, but missing a 38-yard attempt due in part to a poor hold.

WSU’s first touchdown came courtesy of a Taylor forced fumble, when he stripped the ball from Utah receiver Demari Simpkins on the end of a reception, and Jalen Thompson recovered for WSU.

The offense got the ball at the Utah 46, and engineered a nine-play scoring drive that was capped by Luke Falk’s 11-yard touchdown pass to Tavares Martin Jr. With that score, Falk tied former USC quarterback Matt Barkley’s Pac-12 record for career touchdown passes — 116.

Falk would break the record in the second quarter, when the Cougars mounted their longest, and best drive of the afternoon, driving 75 yards on 11 plays to score on a 1-yard pass from Falk to Kyle Sweet to give the senior quarterback his 117th career touchdown strike, and sole possession of the Pac-12 record.

That touchdown put WSU up 20-10 going into halftime, but thereafter, the Cougars did not score another touchdown until the four quarter.

Instead, they gave Powell’s left leg a workout, and leaned on their defense to keep them in the game.

In a game in which WSU never trailed, the Utes pulled within one score twice in the fourth quarter.

Utah scored on a seven-play, 43-yard drive that ended with Moss’ 1-yard touchdown run, then got the two-point conversion with Huntley connected with Siale Fakailoatonga to make the score 26-18, in favor of WSU.

But after Ekuale forced Moss to fumble on Utah’s next possession and Jalen Thompson recovered to give the offense the ball at Utah’s 14.

WSU’s offense finally managed capitalize on the good field position — a skill that had eluded them all night.

Isaiah Johnson-Mack hooked up with Falk twice, and his third reception on that drive was a 6-yard touchdown that gave WSU some breathing room.