There was a calm to Morgan Scalley on the sideline Thursday.

The usually rambunctious Utah head coach looked a bit different. He calmly talked to his players, made measured decisions and didn’t use his voice unless he absolutely had to.

And he didn’t have to very often, as No. 21 Utah crushed Idaho 66-14 on Saturday night in Salt Lake City.

“There’s a different head coach, and you wonder what that’s going to be like,” Utah quarterback Devon Dampier said. “The energy and the calmness that he had in us, he didn’t need to rally us up too much.

“He was like, ‘We’ve been doing this for months now, so just go out there, do what you do.’ We’re all going to make mistakes, but at the end of the day, we have to forget it and move on to the next play.”

As a defensive coordinator, you’d often see Scalley frantically waving signals to his defense, screaming in the mic and showcasing a level of intensity that nearly all of his players talk about.

He put on a new look in the Utes’ big win — one that’s probably here to stay.

“As a defensive coordinator, you have to be loud,” Scalley said. “They have to see you. They have to feel your energy. And you know, as a head coach, I’m mainly focused on managing the game.”

With Scalley’s first home win, the program officially entered a new era. And yes, it was Idaho, the team that lost to Cal Poly last week. And yes, we’ll learn a lot more about this team in the weeks and months to come.

But a blowout win is still a good thing. And Scalley is hoping that people will now quit talking about him.

“I’m happy that this first one’s over with, so everyone can stop talking about, ‘Oh, this is Morgan Scalley,’” Utah’s head coach said.

“This is a Utah football deal. Always will be. It is about these kids. It’s about these players.”

Here are three takeaways from Utah’s first game:

Two starting quarterbacks?

Everyone knows about Devon Dampier.

He’s the face of Utah’s football program, and he had himself a strong start to the 2026 season against Idaho. He finished the game with 176 passing yards and three touchdowns.

He gave Utah fans a glimpse of what could be another big season.

“I feel like the game is slowing down for me,” Dampier said. “That’s probably been the biggest step that I’ve had going into the season.”

But don’t forget about sophomore dynamo Byrd Ficklin.

After a breakout 2025 campaign, Ficklin continued to build on the momentum he had last year. He did a little bit of everything against the Vandals. And I mean everything.

He made a jump pass while rolling to the right. He juked past defenders on the read option. Scalley even had the young quarterback split out wide. For now, he has yet to catch a pass. But that could be coming very soon.

Ficklin finished with 93 passing yards and two touchdowns. He also ran the ball eight times for 70 rushing yards.

“The whole offseason I was trying to keep it on the low,” Dampier said. “Byrd’s going to find his way on the field.

“He’s a baller, so we’re definitely happy.”

Scalley was happy too.

“I feel like we have two starting quarterbacks,” Scalley said.

“They’re both great leaders. They’re unselfish, and you saw the efficiency tonight. Both can run the ball, and when they’re in there at the same time — as a defensive coordinator, a former defensive coordinator — that scares me.”

Not many college coaches in America can say that — even in the Power Four.

Running back depth galore

Wayshawn Parker made it known all fall camp that he’s ready to become Utah’s workhorse back.

He wants to rush the ball for 1,200 yards, especially after he was just 19 yards short of eclipsing 1,000 yards in the Las Vegas Bowl last December.

The junior running back got off to a hot start in multiple ways in game one. He rushed 12 times for 71 yards and one touchdown. Parker was also a threat in the passing attack, reeling in two touchdown catches.

“We already knew we were going to come out; everybody was going to go out there and ball out,” Parker said. “We had that standard — no matter who was in that field.”

Parker might be set for a big season, but so might the others in Utah’s running back room.

Freshman LaMarcus Bell led the team with 87 yards and one touchdown. His best play of the night came on a 34-yard run where he split Idaho’s defense in half.

San Jose State transfer running back Steve Chavez-Soto also had a touchdown.

“I’ll toot Wayshawn Parker’s [horn] all day long,” Scalley said. “That guy can catch the ball, run the ball. He’s tough as nails, and watch him block. He is a complete running back, which is why we have a ton of NFL scouts come to watch practice.

“That’s a position group I know is going to come ready every single week.”

Still more to see in the trenches

Utah’s offensive line got off to a slow start in the first quarter.

Dampier was hit a few times. There were some missed blocking assignments from the group early, but things were cleaned up as the game went on.

One positive is that the entire team only had one penalty all night. There’s still a lot to see from the starting five led by center Alex Harrison and left tackle Zereou Williams.

“The offensive line is a veteran offensive line, and we did what we needed to do,” Scalley said. “These first games can be tricky. You can be sloppy and not get things going.

“Good offensive line units finish plays … that’s what you saw out of that crew today.”

The defensive line wreaked havoc on Idaho quarterback Joshua Wood for most of the game. But there was one glaring stat: Only one Ute recorded a sack — defensive tackle Karson Kaufusi.

Utah will need to see more from its defensive ends and tackles if it’s going to be a Big 12 contender this season.

“We have a bunch of good guys that are bought into the culture and working their tail ends off,” Utah linebacker Trey Reynolds said of Utah’s defensive front.

“So we’re gonna see nothing but good things from those guys, and we’re gonna get their best.”