Utah enters its home opener against Cal Poly in Salt Lake City on Saturday with a much more potent offense than a season ago.
The No. 25 Utes (1-0) thrashed UCLA 43-10 at the Rose Bowl last Saturday in a dominating performance, echoing the Utah teams that won back-to-back Pac-12 championships earlier this decade.
New Mexico transfer Devon Dampier shined in his Utes debut, throwing for 206 yards and two touchdowns on 21-of-25 passing. He also led the way on the ground with a team-high 87 yards on 16 carries, including a 2-yard score.
With Dampier at the controls, Utah rolled up 492 total yards on offense — including 286 rushing yards — and converted 14 of 16 third downs. The Utes scored on all six trips to the red zone and averaged 6.2 yards per play.
“This game was a statement game, for sure,” Dampier said following the win. “I think everyone on the team had a good idea of that it was a statement game, and we wanted to show the nation what this team is about and just take care of business.”
On the other side of the ball, Utah proved stingy. The Utes surrendered 220 total yards to UCLA, including only 84 rushing yards. The Bruins were 2-of-11 on third down and gave up four sacks, including two by John Henry Daley.
“We did a good job controlling the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball and that was the biggest difference,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said.
Utah also succeeded in utilizing defensive stars Smith Snowden and Lander Barton on both sides of the ball.
With snaps divided equally between defense and offense, Snowden led Utah receivers with 51 yards on six catches. He also ran for 15 yards and a touchdown on three carries. Barton caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from Dampier in the second quarter to help Utah pull away.
Whittingham said Utah will continue to rely on Snowden and Barton to contribute on multiple offensive plays. The size of their roles will hinge on matchups and personnel packages.
“We plan on using them each and every week,” Whittingham said.
FCS member Cal Poly (1-0) faces twin challenges in both stopping the Utes and trying to move the ball offensively.
The Mustangs coasted to a 41-17 road victory in their season opener against San Diego, totaling 469 yards last Saturday. Pittsburgh transfer Ty Dieffenbach threw for 263 yards and two touchdowns on 18-of-27 passing in his Cal Poly debut.
The Mustangs have not had the same level of success against FBS opponents in recent seasons. Cal Poly hasn’t beaten an FBS team since edging Wyoming 24-22 in 2012.
Utah hasn’t lost to a Big Sky Conference team — or any other FCS opponent — since falling to Idaho 28-17 in 1993.
–Field Level Media
