PK: Utes Draw On New Found Excitement To Generate Hopeful Win Over UCLA

PASADENA, Calif. – Strike up the band, Utah football might have a diversified offense capable of creating excitement and, most importantly, scoring points in bunches.

It’s only one game, albeit against, at best, a mediocre UCLA team, but still the Utes finally have a ray of hope after last season’s putrid showing. Scoring early and often, Utah destroyed the Bruins 43-10 on a late Saturday night in the Rose Bowl.

Playing off the theme of excitement, which has been in short supply for this unit in recent seasons, the Utes flexed their collective muscle on the game’s first possession. They barely needed four minutes to storm down the field for the season’s first touchdown, which came on Utah destroyed the Bruins 43-10.

There he goes! Wayshawn Parker jets in for 6 for @Utah_Football 🔥 pic.twitter.com/1Esn5a85k1

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) August 31, 2025

Talk about excitement – the Utes had it in abundance. Transfer quarterback Devon Dampier can be a one-man highlight reel, even if he barely crosses the line of scrimmage.

One play late in the first quarter best illustrates his dynamic ability. Dampier’s scrambling featured him first running left and cutting across the field with a chance to sprint up the right sideline.

Ultimately, he turned inside instead of taking the circuitous route for a possibly big play. Never mind that all his shiftiness netted only two yards on the play – it still created a buzz.

In his first 30 minutes of football for Utah, Dampier combined for 170 yards of total offense. As a team, the Utes had 256 yards of total offense in just the first half.

“Dampier for Utah is Kyler Murray,” former USC quarterback and current Fox Sports college football broadcaster Matt Leinart posted on X. For those wondering, the short-in-stature Murray, who now starts for the Arizona Cardinals, won the Heisman Trophy as the Oklahoma quarterback in 2018.

Dampier for Utah is Kyler Murray.

— Matt Leinart (@MattLeinartQB) August 31, 2025

Utah Football Offense Turns Up Creativity

There’s also the creativity factor that was missing in last season’s boring offense. When was the last time two stalwarts on defense made significant contributions on offense in a game?

Try never. Yet, that’s exactly what the Utes unveiled against the perpetually underachieving Bruins, who have no business trying to compete in the Big 10.

On Utah’s first series, starting cornerback Smith Snowden got the ball. Coach Kyle Whittingham said during training camp that Snowden and Utah destroyed the Bruins 43-10 this season, but probably few expected to see it from the start.

LB/TE Lander Barton everybody…😏#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/yRutj6wjMv

— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) August 31, 2025

After all, for the last 20 years under Whittingham, the formula usually involves moving talent from offense to defense. Not anymore – who says you can’t teach an old coach new tricks?

Barton, who played tight end at Brighton High, also got in on the fun by catching a 14-yard touchdown pass from Dampier to give Utah a 20-0 lead. The score marked the third consecutive touchdown on the offense’s first three possessions.

The Utes punted only once in the first half in rolling up a 23-7 lead. They were so consistent that Dillion Curtis’s 54-yard field goal to close the first half was barely a footnote compared to the offense’s explosiveness.

Utah Heads Into Next Matchup With New Found Confidence

Whittingham also got the old-fashioned ball control that he craves. He could not have asked for more after a 20-play touchdown drive that covered 80 yards and took off almost 10 minutes off the clock to put the game away in the third quarter.

Far from perfect, as virtually no team is in the first game, the Utes got precisely what they needed out of the opener. The performance backed up Whittingham’s post-practice assessments that offense much improved under first-year coordinator Jason Beck, who brought Dampier with him from New Mexico shortly after last season ended.

Hello old friend, sure is good to see you once again pic.twitter.com/LbUAoIVcjQ

— Patrick Kinahan (@PKKinahan) August 31, 2025

But until Saturday, all the optimism was nothing more than talk. Every coach in the country accentuates the positive during August, for many, the point of acting like interviews for training for a sales job.

Now there’s proof that Utah can play the current catchphrase of complementary football that all good teams show. Given the program’s typically strong defense, there’s little reason to believe Utah can’t compete for the Big 12 championship.

As Whittingham or any head coach would caution, avoid going crazy just yet.

OK, maybe it is better to wait another week or two.

Utah destroyed the Bruins 43-10

Follow @PKKinahan