Laramie, Wyo. • After scoring just three points in the first half, Kyle Whittingham’s message to his team was simple.
“Finish drives,” Utah’s head coach said of his halftime speech. “Fortunately, we got that right. The offensive line did a really good job of taking charge and controlling the line of scrimmage.”
Was it really that simple for Utah’s offense and junior quarterback Devon Dampier? It appears so. And it truly was a tale of two halves in No. 20 Utah’s (3-0) 31-6 win over Wyoming (2-1) on Saturday.
In the first period, Utah was 4-for-10 on third downs. The Utes also missed three field goals, and had six penalties and one fumble at the 7-yard line from Nate Johnson before the break.
Everything that could possibly go wrong, did. Things seemed even more bleak when freshman kicker Dillon Curtis had his field goal blocked by a Cowboys’ defender.
But Utah leaned on its defense, which held Wyoming to six points, forced two turnovers — a fumble recovery and interception — and 229 total yards of offense.
Their performance left Utah’s star quarterback feeling thankful for multiple reasons.
“Shout out to the defense, and I can’t say it enough,” Dampier said after he game.
“We came out of halftime and were able to convert on third downs and keep the ball moving. … I mean, that’s just adversity. I’m glad we had it earlier [in the season] than later.”
Beyond the stat sheet — and the talk of executing better from Dampier and Whittingham — Utah’s quarterback played a big part in the Utes’ second-half resurgence.
On a 3rd-and-21 with 2:08 remaining in the third, several plays after the Utes were pushed back due to a holding penalty, the quarterback tossed a 23-yard pass to tight end Dallen Bentley, converting the first down.
Several plays later, Dampier dazzled again, fumbling the ball in the pocket, picking up the pigskin and lasering a pass to Larry Simmons for his first touchdown as a Ute while rolling to the right.
The Utes were finally executing, thanks to more of Dampier’s magic.
Utah wide receiver Rayshawn Glover runs the ball during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025, in Laramie, Wyo. (AP Photo/Matthew Idler)
“My reaction was that I was happy,” Whittingham said. “A lot of quarterbacks would have just dove on the ball. He has the presence of mind — just that ‘it factor’ — where he just says, ‘Hey, let’s keep this thing alive and make something out of it.’
“That takes a rare guy.”
Dampier added: “I was looking for a receiver, and it kind of just slipped out. And, I trust my O-line that they’re holding up, and they were, so I was able to pick the ball up without having to dive on it.”
Dampier finished the night completing 66% of his passes for 230 passing yards and two passing touchdowns. The Ute quarterback was also Utah’s leading rusher with 87 yards on 13 attempts.
Utah had 311 total yards on the ground vs. the Cowboys. With their quarterback finding his rhythm, the Utes converted all of their third downs in the second half.
Their 3-point lead quickly turned into a 25-point win.
“When we’re able to convert on third downs, we keep the ball moving,” Dampier said. “That was a big emphasis to make sure we’re finishing drives, not just those first two plays.”
The Utes will hope to carry their second-half momentum next week into their pivotal Big 12 matchup against No. 21 Texas Tech next Saturday at 10 a.m. MT in Salt Lake City.
The Red Raiders will be Utah’s toughest opponent yet, and a true test to see if they’re worthy of being crowned a true contender for the College Football Playoff.
“We gotta be up for the occasion,” Whittingham said. “The degree of difficulty is getting up, and that’s what you’d expect, and we’re excited about the challenge.’