Devon Dampier, Utah offense overwhelm UCLA in season opener at Rose Bowl

PASADENA, Calif. — More than a month ago, Kyle Whittingham told everyone his playbook at Big 12 media days.

Utah would utilize defensive stars Smith Snowden and Lander Barton on offense this season. And the man was true to his word as Utah brought out a heavy dose of the defensive players — mostly Snowden — to take a commanding lead in the team's season opener at the Rose Bowl.

Following an opening 13-yard rushing touchdown by running back Wayshawn Parker, Snowden followed up the score with an 8-yard rushing touchdown of his own, and then Barton added a 14-yard receiving touchdown to give Utah an early 20-0 lead over UCLA on their home turf.

Defense was offense for Utah on Saturday night ... just in a different way than traditionally thought of in a game. Or maybe they're just offensive stars now.

And while the defensive stars put on a show — including defensive back Jackson Bennee, who got in on the action — it was quarterback Devon Dampier and his dominant offensive line who changed the entire tone of the game.

Utah's offense looked like a well-oiled machine with Dampier leading the charge, and the Utes came away with a 43-10 win over former Pac-12 foe UCLA.

"This game was, it was a statement game, for sure," Snowden said. "I think everyone on the team had a good idea that it was a statement game — that we wanted to show the nation what this team is about and just take care of business."

Dampier concluded his Utah debut throwing for 206 yards and two touchdowns on 21-of-25 passing, and added 87 yards on the ground to lead the team and overturn an inept offensive performance last season by the Utes.

"First time I got to wear that Utes jersey. It means a lot to this program to be a Ute, so just to be out there with my boys, it was great," Dampier said. "I mean, I feel like we were clicking on all cylinders today. We played football at our best today, and now continue to stack the days. There's a lot we can learn from and continue to get better."

It was a night and day difference with offensive coordinator Jason Beck calling the shots.

Utah utilized a no-huddle offense that included using tempo to put stress on a UCLA defense that struggled to contain the Utah offense line and Dampier's shifty nature in the pocket.

And yet, the back breaker came in the third quarter when Utah went on a 20-play drive that went for 80 yards over 9:44 and ended with Dampier rushing for a 3-yard touchdown to take a 20-point lead.

"That kind of drive doesn't happen without a front that's dominating," Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said. "Our front really took control of that drive. They had control the whole night, but that's a statement drive and said, 'Hey, we can lean on you and oppose our will if we want.' And it was great to see."

On the next series for UCLA, starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava took a 6-yard sack by defensive tackle Karson Kaufusi on third down to all but end the Bruins' chances of a comeback. It didn't get much better for Iamaleava and the UCLA offense the longer the game went on, either.

The next series, UCLA picked up two quick first downs on passing plays, but Utah's defense got the better of Iamaleava as John Henry Daley recorded his second sack of the night — a 7-yard loss — and then linebacker Trey Reynolds followed it up with an interception on the next play.

The turnover was the only one of the game for the two teams, but it set an already effective Utah offense up on the UCLA 29-yard line. And then four plays later, running back NaQuari Rogers found the end zone on a 1-yard run to seal the victory.

The two starting quarterbacks' nights were done, and all that was left was for Utah to wear out the game clock to secure the team's first win of the season.

"The defense performance was great," Snowden said. "Honestly, there's obviously plays you want to clean up, plays that you wish you would get back. But I think, overall, I think we had a great day. There's some tackles that we could have made, but other than that, I think it was really a great Game 1, a game to kind of make a statement, kind of show people who we are and what this team is about."

Iamaleava finished his UCLA debut throwing for 136 yards, one interception and a 19-yard touchdown toss to former Utah running back Anthony Woods on 11-of-22 passing. He added 47 rushing yards on 13 carries to lead the Bruins in a run game that managed only 84 yards.

The Bruins as a team were held to just 220 total yards of offense, while Utah put up 492 total yards, including nearly 300 yards in the run game. Additionally, Utah had 80 plays on the night — including an efficient third-down conversion percentage (14-of-16) — while UCLA managed only 50.

"Third down was incredible," Whittingham said. "I think we were 14 out of 16 on third down; that's off the charts. I've probably never been involved in a game where we've had that many third down opportunities and converted that high of a percentage, so that was a huge part of the success.

"Everything I just said doesn't happen unless your offensive line plays outstanding," he added. "So great credit, great tribute to that O-line. Those guys are a big, physical group. They were as advertised tonight, and we've just got to keep on that trajectory and keep working hard."

Utah now turns its attention to the home opener on Saturday against FCS Cal Poly.

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