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SALT LAKE CITY — For a brief moment on Saturday, Utah's offense looked sloppy and vanilla.
Add to that Tavion Thomas being stripped of the football for a fumble deep in Utah's territory and Southern Utah then scoring a 28-yard rushing touchdown by freshman quarterback Grady Robison, and the first quarter was nothing to remember for the Utes.
Southern Utah did its job early and held a 7-7 score as the whistle blew the first quarter's end.
"We just kept shooting ourselves in the foot and just putting ourselves way behind the sticks, and that made it hard for us," Utah quarterback Cam Rising said. "But we just didn't flinch and just made sure that we made the next series count. That's the most important thing right there for us."
It was the closest the Thunderbirds would come, though, as Utah reeled off 38 consecutive points in the second quarter to put distance on the FCS school from Cedar City. By the end of the first half, it took Utah 28 seconds to score a touchdown with a playbook that was diverse and explosive as it involved both deep passes and runs.
That second quarter effort was just a part of Utah going on nine straight drives with a score — eight of which were a touchdown.
Rising eclipsed the 3,000-yard career passing mark on the final touchdown of the half — an 8-yard toss to tight end Dalton Kincaid — and finished with 254 yards and three touchdowns on 17-of-23 passing. It was enough and Rising did not return in the second half with a 45-7 lead going into the halftime break.
In the end, Utah rolled to a 73-7 victory over Southern Utah to get its first win of the season.
"We did a lot of good things," Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said. "We expected to win the football game. I mean, that's a given, but you don't always do what you're supposed to do — things don't always go the way they're supposed to go. So it was good to see our guys perform efficiently, make a lot of plays on both sides of the ball."
The rout continued for Utah (1-1) at the start of the second half when safety R.J. Hubert picked off a pass from Southern Utah (1-1) quarterback Justin Miller and returned it 39 yards for a pick-six touchdown.
Outside of the 28-yard rushing touchdown allowed, Utah's defense made up for last week's "soft" showing against Florida, where the team missed 27 tackles, according to Whittingham. The defense managed two sacks, two quarterback hits and six tackles for loss, in addition to two interceptions — one of which was a leaping catch by Junior Tafuna.
Miller was pushed around all game against that physical Utah defense and struggled to get passes off before taking hits from defenders or being forced into throws before he was ready. Miller finished the day throwing for 42 yards and two interceptions on 11-of-21 passing on an offense that only managed 85 total yards in the game.
"I feel like we did well today," said freshman linebacker Lander Barton, who recorded his first career sack. "I mean, all week in preparation we were honing in on physicality, being dominant up front; and I feel like today we are truly dominant up in the front seven."
As Utah's offense checked into the game in the third quarter, it was Bryson Barnes, who got an official scholarship offer from Southern Utah, that replaced Rising in the lineup.
The walk-on quarterback that won the backup role after a close competition with Ja'Quinden Jackson continued to keep the offense rolling and orchestrated a six-play, 78-yard drive in three minutes that was capped off by 4-yard rushing touchdown by freshman running back Jaylon Glover, who got his first collegiate minutes after Thomas subbed out of the game at halftime.
Q: How many TDs will the Utes have today?
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) September 10, 2022
A: The limit does not exist 👏
📺 Pac-12 Network
📱 https://t.co/VhjMOIK573#Pac12FB | @Utah_Footballpic.twitter.com/MZU6r25wBR
Jackson checked into the game at quarterback on the first full drive of the fourth quarter, and his first play was a QB keeper that went 28 yards (with an additional 15 yards tacked on for a late hit penalty by Southern Utah). Glover followed up Jackson's run with a 29-yard run of his own that ended up in the end zone for his second score of the day.
Glover finished with 53 rushing yards and two touchdowns on eight carries.
"It was a surreal moment," Glover said, speaking about his first touchdown of his career. "You've got to act like you've been there before, so first of many and I'm excited to keep going."
Thomas finished the day with two rushing touchdowns and 48 rushing yards on 11 carries, and backup Chris Curry, who filled in and showcased his talent on the field at times against Florida, finished the day with a team-high 60 rushing yards and one touchdown on six carries.
Kincaid led the team in receiving with 107 yards and two touchdowns on seven catches, with a long of 37 yards for the dynamic tight end. In total, nine receivers caught a pass for a total of 352 yards.
Utah returns to Rice-Eccles next Saturday (8 p.m. MDT, ESPN2) to welcome San Diego State in a rematch of a three overtime loss in Carson, California.
