Though many doubted, Utah football answered the call in first major test of season

SALT LAKE CITY — As Pat McAfee prepared to round out the morning picks as part of the ESPN "College GameDay" visit to Salt Lake City, thousands of fans in attendance waited in anticipation.

The ESPN personality had long declared his love of Utah, but something was different Saturday morning. Instead of his often long-winded explanation — a WWE-like build-up played as either the hero or heel to add to the day's entertainment value — McAfee seemingly breezed through his selection before his final declaration.

"It's hard to pick against this mighty Utah student section, but I'm gonna do it 10 times out of 10," he said. "Give me Houston coming out of here with a big-time dub and proving that Utah hasn't had to play anybody yet.

"Congrats to Houston getting a huge win here in Salt Lake City," he added. "Thank you, guys. I'll never see you again, hopefully."

It's safe to say the Utah football team was made very well aware of the comments — in addition to all the other doubts heaped and picks that had gone against an undefeated Utah ahead of a top-15 showdown against Houston.

The visiting team, who was coming off a ranked win over Oklahoma State the week prior, was the trendy pick coming into Saturday — and not just from the ESPN crew in town Saturday morning.

"We've had adversity already," head coach Morgan Scalley declared after his team beat Houston 21-13 Saturday in a second-half thriller. "We've had — (the players) hear Utah hasn't played anybody. They hear that, and they hear that Houston's gonna get them. And so, that's why they play the game. So proud of them."

Quarterback Devon Dampier, who willed Utah to a win with two touchdowns and 150 rushing yards, in addition to passing for 204 yards, said the team felt like "we were written off by a lot of people."

"I guess that's a respectful way to say that," Dampier added. "We definitely felt that. We definitely heard about it. We definitely came out here and it was the game we had to prove ourselves. We knew what situation we were in."

With the added pressure of the spotlight being on the program as part of "College GameDay," there was a lot riding on Saturday's result.

"I kind of told our team before we went out there: There's no need to be nervous in this moment, being 'College GameDay,' and this and that," Dampier said. "We talked about reaching the college playoffs. This is the road. This is the road you've got to take to get there, so there's no need to be nervous.

"We believed we were going to be here since spring ball. So that was kind of the message: Just let's go out there, let's do what we do."

And when all was said and done, Utah delivered.

Houston, which entered Saturday's contest as one of the most prolific offenses in the country, provided to be a valuable test and put pressure on Utah. But it wasn't enough against a Utah team that came together in the halftime break with an undeterred resolve to leave no doubts in the second half.

As such, Utah's defense limited Houston to just 13 points, 86 rushing yards, and several empty trips inside the red zone (the Cougars had averaged 39.3 points, which was good for 12th in FBS, and 220.3 rushing yards).

Defensive coordinator Colton Swan dialed up an aggressive scheme in the last few minutes with his all-out blitzes on Houston quarterback Conner Weigman — capped off my Jackson Bennee's strip sack deep of the QB in Houston territory, which set up a Dampier rushing touchdown seconds later.

For Dampier, the second-half rally and coming together as a team showed "how strong culture is" — a year-long showcase to what Scalley has tried to implement at Utah, where every player is speaking the same language and pulling in the same direction for the greater good of the team.

"(It shows) how much brotherhood and love can take you," Dampier said. "That's our foundation. ... I can say we showcased that tonight."

And it showed the college football world that Utah football is to be taken seriously.

The win over a ranked Houston team was good enough to lift Utah to No. 6 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 rankings, where the Utes even received a first-place vote and several votes inside the top five.

But the grind never stops, Scalley cautioned Saturday night. In a season where ranked teams have consistently fallen, he recognizes the challenge of staying on top.

"Pressure is a privilege," he said. "There's pressure because you're winning, and so we believe in what we do. We believe in the process, and we've got to keep it going, though. Everyone's going to pat us on the backs now and tell us how awesome we are.

"Beware of the soothing sounds of praise."

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