The Big 12’s balance sheet shifted in a hurry Saturday, and Utah wound up standing tallest when the dust settled.
No. 10 Utah walked into its matchup with No.
14 Houston already watching chaos unfold around the league. Earlier in the day, rival No.
2 BYU lost on the road to UCF. Then No.
8 Texas Tech, the reigning Big 12 champion, turned in a rough outing against Cincinnati. By kickoff, only three unbeaten teams were left in college football: Miami, UCLA and the Utes.
Utah didn’t look like a team ready to seize that spotlight in the first half. The Utes went to the locker room scoreless, managed more three-and-outs than red zone trips and spent the opening 30 minutes fighting through the kind of inexperience that can show up in a big moment.
But the second half changed everything.
After falling behind 10-0 midway through the third quarter, Utah needed just one quick burst to settle in. Devon Dampier produced 75 yards on five straight plays by himself - two passes and three runs - and the Utes were suddenly on the board just 2:21 later.
On the next possession, Dampier pushed Utah into Houston territory through the air, then Daniel Bray and Wayshawn Parker helped finish the job on the ground. That set up a five-yard touchdown run and Utah’s first lead of the day.
From there, the Utes closed with the kind of timely execution that separates contenders from everyone else. Utah dialed up a sneaky blitz that rattled Houston quarterback Conner Weigman and produced a strip-sack deep in Houston territory. Dampier finished the sequence with another score, and Utah’s defense did the rest to seal the 21-13 win.
The final score told part of the story. The control Utah showed told the bigger one.
According to Game on Paper, 59% of Utah’s plays were successful, which puts the Utes in the 96th percentile. Their rushing success stood out even more, landing in the 93rd percentile. That came even though Utah was missing a key offensive lineman and had turned over all five starting offensive linemen from last season.
The win extended Utah’s streak to 13 games, the longest active run at the FBS level.
Even after beating Houston, Utah is expected to stay behind BYU as the Big 12’s top-ranked team. The Cougars still have that win over No.
2 Notre Dame, plus a victory over Arizona that keeps looking better. Still, the Utes should move past Texas Tech and put themselves in line for an AP Top 5 push.
The schedule still has plenty left in it. Utah has BYU and Arizona coming up, and the Houston win gives the Utes room to split those games and stay alive in the Big 12 title race.
After finishing last season as maybe the best two-loss team in the country, there is urgency here to get this version right. And after losing three straight to the Cougars, finally getting BYU in Salt Lake City remains the big priority.
Utah was supposed to become the Big 12’s new standard-bearer when it left the Pac-12. It took two years and a coaching change, but the Utes are now climbing to the top of the league.
In Other News...
Devon Dampiers GameDay Spotlight Comes With An Awkward Backstory
Devon Dampier is about to find himself in one of the biggest spotlights on Utahs schedule, with the Utes set to host Houston for College GameDay in Week 8 at Rice-Eccles Stadium. It is the kind of stage that can turn a regular Saturday into a national conversation, and for Dampier, the attention is likely to extend beyond the huddle as the Utes welcome a game with extra buzz and plenty of cameras.
Lola Sexton is expected to be part of that scene in Salt Lake City, adding another layer to a weekend already heavy on attention around Utahs quarterback. Her relationship with Dampier has been public since the aftermath of her split with Jaxson Dart, and the personal history attached to that storyline is hard to ignore when the biggest pregame show in college football comes to town. [Read more 🡒]
Pat McAfees Utah Blowup Gave Houston Fans An Unexpected Moment
The buildup to College GameDay in Salt Lake City already had a little edge to it, and Pat McAfee did not do much to soften the mood. The former NFL player and current broadcaster made clear where he stood, backing Houston over Utah and drawing a quick reaction from the Utes fan base. A video posted by the University of Utahs Instagram account, which poked fun at McAfee, only added another layer to the back-and-forth before the show even got rolling.
McAfees public feud with Utah supporters has now taken on a life of its own, with the kicking contest segment adding to the tension on set. The exchange, including a contestants gripe about the prize and McAfees sarcastic response, gave the whole episode a sharper edge than a typical game-day squabble. For Utah fans, it was another reminder that this one may linger a while, even if the broadcast itself has moved on. [Read more 🡒]
Utah Just Passed Its Biggest Big 12 Test Yet
Utahs unbeaten start kept rolling Saturday night at Rice-Eccles Stadium, where the Utes knocked off No. 14 Houston 21-13 and held onto the top spot in the Big 12 race. It was the kind of win that can define an early season, with Utah leaning on a defense that made timely stops and a ground game that gave the home crowd plenty to cheer about.
The game tightened late before one defensive play swung the momentum back for good, turning a tense finish into another statement for Kyle Whittinghams team. Devon Dampier was a major part of the offense again with his legs, but the bigger question now is how a Utes team that keeps finding ways to win will carry this momentum into the next stretch of conference play. [Read more 🡒]