Utah’s season opener had the kind of energy that tends to stick with a team, and Thursday night at Rice-Eccles Stadium, the Utes delivered plenty for their fans to enjoy in a 66-14 rout of Idaho.
The headline names were exactly who you’d expect. Devon Dampier, back for his senior season after dealing with injury during a successful 2025 campaign, stepped into the opener healthy and ready to roll. On the sideline, Morgan Scalley picked up a milestone of his own, becoming the sixth straight Utah head coach to win the first game of his first full season as coach.
There were smiles all over the place as Utah opened the 2026 season in convincing fashion, and Dampier said Scalley’s message helped set the tone.
“He was like, ‘Y’all, 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, forget it, move on to the next play,’” Dampier said of Scalley. “Just the way he carried himself definitely brought a different impact to us.”
One of the more interesting side stories from the night came at quarterback, where Byrd Ficklin made his presence felt. He contributed on the field alongside Dampier, then stayed involved when QB1 came out with Utah already in control. That role didn’t go unnoticed by either Dampier or Scalley.
“I feel like we have two starting quarterbacks, and they’re both great leaders, unselfish, and you saw the efficiency tonight,” Scalley said. “Both can run the ball, and when they’re in there at the same time, you know, as a defensive coordinator, a former defensive coordinator, that scares me.”
The night had its share of opening-week chaos too, and not just on the field. Even the postgame grind brought a small blooper reel, with a video stand-up attempt at Rice-Eccles going sideways after a forgotten tripod and a shaky setup with a monopod. It ended with a desperate dive to keep the camera from crashing to the turf.
Still, for Utah, the bigger picture was simple: a dominant opener, a healthy Dampier, a confident start under Scalley, and a crowd that had plenty to smile about.
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