Devon Dampier threw for 230 yards and two touchdowns to help No. 20 Utah pull away in the second half for a 31-6 victory over Wyoming in Laramie on Saturday night.
Dampier added 86 yards on the ground, pacing a third straight game for the Utes with at least 200 rushing yards. Utah (3-0) finished with a season-high 311 rushing yards and averaged 6.9 yards per carry. For the Utes, it was their highest single-game total on the ground since churning out 352 rushing yards in a 55-3 win over Arizona State in 2023.
Kaden Anderson threw for 108 yards and an interception for Wyoming, which suffered its fifth straight loss to Utah and ninth in the last 10th meetings between the two former conference rivals. The Cowboys (2-1) committed two turnovers and avoided a shutout on Terron Kellerman’s 15-yard run with 4:23 left.
After struggling to finish drives for an entire half, Utah’s offense finally came to life in the third quarter.
NaQuari Rogers plowed across the goal line from a yard out on his third try for Utah’s first touchdown of the game to cap its opening drive of the second half. Then the Utes made it 17-0 going into the fourth quarter after Dampier capped a 19-play, 80-yard drive by picking up a dropped snap and hitting Larry Simmons with an 8-yard dart.
Utah gained 181 yards on 29 total plays in the third quarter while limiting Wyoming to just seven plays over that 15-minute stretch.
Dampier threw his second touchdown pass — a 14-yard strike to JJ Buchanan — early in the fourth quarter to make it 24-0. Jackson Bennee set up the score after returning an interception 57 yards to the Cowboys’ 18-yard line.
During the first half, Utah moved the ball downfield with ease until crossing the Wyoming 30. Five of six first-half drives for the Utes died inside the 30-yard line.
Utah scored the only points for either team before halftime when Dillon Curtis capped their opening drive with a 43-yard field goal. Then the Utes’ kicking game unraveled.
Curtis missed from 45 yards out on each of Utah’s next two drives, opening the door for the Cowboys to hang around and keep the game close. Aneesh Vyas blocked a fourth field-goal attempt by Curtis — from 46 yards out — with three seconds left before halftime.
–Field Level Media
