Wayshawn Parker turned Utah’s night into a runaway finish, and the No. 12 Utes needed every bit of it to get past Kansas.
Parker piled up 171 rushing yards and two touchdowns, then slammed the door with a 90-yard score late in the fourth quarter as Utah held off the Jayhawks 41-24 on Saturday night in Salt Lake City. The Utes stayed unbeaten at 5-0, but this one was anything but simple after a second-quarter wobble let Kansas claw all the way back into the game.
Utah had opened fast after the bye week, punching out to a 14-0 lead at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Then the rhythm vanished in the second quarter.
Devon Dampier looked hurried, the passing game stalled, and Kansas kept finding room as the first half wound down. By halftime, a comfortable lead had turned into a far more dangerous one.
The Utes steadied themselves coming out of the break. They opened the second half with a defensive stop and a 2-yard touchdown catch by Ricky Johnson, then watched Kansas answer right back. Jayhawks quarterback Isaiah Marshall led a scoring march of his own, capping it with a 29-yard touchdown pass to trim the margin to three.
Utah still had more answers. Dampier finished with 238 passing yards, three touchdowns and an interception on 23-of-30 passing, and he added 68 yards and a rushing score. His second-half bounce-back helped Utah survive a Kansas push that never really went away.
"Not a clean game by any stretch, but it's tough to win in college football, and we're 5-0 right now," Utah head coach Morgan Scalley said. "I'm proud of the guys.
I think we're really resilient. Stuff happens, and they're able to bounce back.
"I told our guys in the locker room, you have to enjoy this," he added. "It is hard to win in college football.
You look at the teams that got upset today, and don't ever take a win for granted. Now there's a lot to clean up; there's a lot to learn from in this one."
Scalley said Kansas’ defensive front gave Utah trouble and believed Dampier held the ball too long at times.
"They had a very good defensive line," Scalley said. "I thought he held onto the ball a little bit too long. I'm not sure if it was a drop eight where you're only rushing three, but bottom line is I think he held onto the ball a little bit too long."
Dampier said his teammates helped settle him down after a frustrating stretch.
"They could tell I was frustrated," Dampier said of his teammates. "I hold myself to a high standard, and just the fact I had every single teammate just come up to me, 'Dev, we know what you're capable of, we're good, settle in, like we got you.'
And just to hear that from so many of my teammates - we preach running off of love, we preach full team bonding, and it definitely showed at halftime. And I think that's why I was able to come out the way I did in the second half."
Parker, though, was the difference-maker. He ripped off 207 all-purpose yards, added 36 receiving yards, and wore his pink cleats for the first time this season. His 90-yard burst late in the game topped 21.3 mph and put the result out of reach.
"We walked through it in practice, so when it gets to that game time, I already know what the deal is," Parker said of his long touchdown run. "They put the trust with the ball in my hands, so I tell coach McGiven every time, 'You get the ball in my hands, I'm gonna make it work.' That's what I did."
Ricky Johnson also delivered a career night for Utah, leading the receivers with 104 yards and a touchdown on five catches. The Mississippi State transfer scored his first touchdown for the Utes and gave the offense another steady outlet.
"Ricky's proven himself since he got here," Dampier said. "I wouldn't say Ricky was a solidified starter when he got here, and just the way he worked this whole entire time to get to this point. I love that our offense is so everybody gets the ball, just because you get to see everyone share this victory.
"It feels like everyone contributed and everyone gets that love, so big shout out to Ricky - more to come."
Kansas finished with 391 total yards after managing just 30 in the first quarter. Marshall threw for 333 yards, two touchdowns and an interception on 19-of-37 passing, while senior receiver Cam Pickett hauled in eight catches for 134 yards and drew praise from Scalley.
"Cam Pickett, their wide receiver, my gosh, just everything that was thrown his way, it seemed like he caught," Scalley said.
The Jayhawks also pushed Utah deep into the red zone multiple times, but the Utes made the critical stops. Kansas went 2-of-5 on red-zone trips for touchdowns, and Utah’s defense survived a late scare when Marshall was stopped 2 yards short of the goal line on fourth down before Parker finished the job at the other end.
Utah’s 5-0 start is its first since the 2015 season. The Utes have now won 11 straight and have scored at least 30 points in every victory this year, something they had not done since the 1994 season.
"Everyone tries to predict who's going to win a football game, who's not, based off what we're rank, but winning college football games are hard, man," Dampier said. "In our conference, being considered a top team, guys are going to put their best foot against us and come out strong."
In Other News...
Utah's Fast Start Suddenly Feels Very Real Heading Into Colorado
The early-season momentum around Utah has started to look less like a nice October story and more like a legitimate national arrival. With both BYU and Utah winning again to stay unbeaten at 5-0, the Utes kept pace with a Big 12 landscape that is already beginning to sort itself out, while also climbing in the AP Top 25 as the rankings adjusted after another busy weekend and a few bye weeks around the conference.
For Utah, the bigger picture is what makes the week ahead so interesting. The Utes have their best start since 2015, and they have topped 30 points in every game this season for the first time since 1994, a run that gives the offense a different kind of credibility heading into Colorado. The ranking rise is part of it, but the more meaningful test is whether this start holds up once the league schedule starts asking harder questions. [Read more 🡒]
Utahs Passing Attack Just Got More Dangerous After One Breakthrough Night
Utahs offense has spent this season leaning into shared responsibility, with Devon Dampier helping power a two-quarterback approach that also features Byrd Ficklin. In the recent win over Kansas, Ficklin continued to add value in more than one role, while the passing game got a timely lift from Ricky Johnson, the Mississippi State transfer whose emergence gave the Utes another threat to work with.
Johnsons night stood out because it fit the broader theme Morgan Scalley has been stressing: unselfish football and players embracing what the offense asks of them. For a group that has already shown it can spread the load, a breakthrough performance like that gives Utah a little more balance and another name defenses will have to account for as the season moves forward. [Read more 🡒]
Utah Showed Promise Against Kansas But One Debate Isnt Going Away
Utahs win over Kansas arrived under unusual circumstances, with the game kicked up earlier than planned because of weather, but the Utes handled the adjustment well. They jumped ahead quickly, kept control for most of the afternoon and showed enough balance to leave with a 41-24 victory, even after Kansas put together a late first-half push that briefly tested the margin.
The encouraging part for Utah was the way the pieces came together when it mattered most. The defense came up with a key stop near its own goal line, and the offense kept finding answers as the game wore on, a sign this team can manage adversity and still play to its identity. Even so, one familiar conversation around the Utes is still hanging around, and it is not going away quietly. [Read more 🡒]