3 takeaways from No. 25 Utah’s win over FCS foe Cal Poly

No. 25 Utah looked every bit the part of a top 25 team by game’s end Saturday in its home opener against Cal Poly, as the Utes beat the Mustangs 63-9.

While Utah was a bit sloppy out of the gate, it put the game away late in the second quarter and pushed its lead in the second half while giving itself a chance to see bench players across the board as it scored 42 of the game’s final 45 points after it was 21-6.

Here are three takeaways from the game.

1 of 40

2 of 40

3 of 40

4 of 40

5 of 40

6 of 40

7 of 40

8 of 40

9 of 40

10 of 40

11 of 40

12 of 40

13 of 40

14 of 40

15 of 40

16 of 40

17 of 40

18 of 40

19 of 40

20 of 40

21 of 40

22 of 40

23 of 40

24 of 40

25 of 40

26 of 40

27 of 40

28 of 40

29 of 40

30 of 40

31 of 40

32 of 40

33 of 40

34 of 40

35 of 40

36 of 40

37 of 40

38 of 40

39 of 40

40 of 40

The positives

Devon Dampier again had a solid game in his second start as Utah’s quarterback.

He ended up leaving midway through the third quarter, with the Utes up 42-6.

Dampier tied a career high with three touchdown passes, none prettier than his final play of the day, when he threw off his back foot and connected with Dallen Bentley for a 11-yard scoring pass in the third.

Dampier completed 17 of 23 passes for 190 yards, while also running for 25 yards on four carries in his first game at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

“It was as electric as everyone talked about,” Dampier said.

Utah ended up gaining 518 yards of total offense and was a perfect 5 of 5 in the red zone, while putting up 273 yards on the ground.

The Utes also got an extended look at true freshman quarterback Byrd Ficklin. His most impressive play was a 38-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, where he stiff-armed a defender and broke away for the long score.

Ficklin ended up running for two touchdowns, including a 2-yarder late, and had 55 rushing yards on just five carries. He also completed 4 of 4 passes for 53 yards.

Nate Johnson had 11 touches in the game as he continues to re-acclimate to Utah. He finished with a team-high 59 rushing yards.

Defensively, the Utes also had a nice day, holding Cal Poly to 223 yards and finishing with three sacks, nine tackles for loss and a pair of turnovers.

Jackson Bennee was the MVP of the first half. That started with his 46-yard pick-six seven and a half minutes into the game to give Utah a 14-0 lead, and it included three pass deflections for the talented sophomore defender.

“It was super fun, not gonna lie,” Bennee said of the pick-six. “Just kind of in the right spot, the right time when they threw it. I was kind of in disbelief, but right as I caught it, I just didn’t look back.”

He nearly had another interception in the second quarter and ended up with five tackles (four solo) to go with his interception and three pass deflections.

The negatives

Penalty issues helped keep Utah from executing early in the matchup.

The Utes had four penalties in the first quarter and another that wasn’t counted, as it was overruled by another penalty on the same play.

Later, an offside and a pass interference on a third-down play — the Mustangs took the PI over the offside — extended a Cal Poly drive that ended in a field goal.

Utah ended up with six penalties in the first half and just one in the second half.

The Utes also had a stretch during the first half when they had to punt on three out of four possessions.

“I thought we’re there just physically. I thought no one was low on effort. Obviously, the mental issues we just got to clean up,” Dampier said.

Saturday’s performance came after Utah tore up the UCLA defense in the opener and scored touchdowns on six of its first eight drives of the season. That included converting 14 of 16 third downs.

Utah was still 9 of 13 on third down Saturday — not as efficient, but still an excellent effort, one that gained steam as the game wore on.

Utah also had some issues at times in the defensive backfield and was called twice for pass interference.

There was also one play when Cal Poly would have scored on a trick play if the pass had been on target, as the intended receiver got behind the Utah defense.

The highlight

Things were meandering midway through the second quarter when Cal Poly’s second field goal made it a 21-6 game.

Though Utah followed that with a punt, it helped pin the Mustangs deep in their own territory inside the 5.

After a penalty that gave Cal Poly a first down, Ute junior linebacker Johnathan Hall made the momentum-changing play.

On second and 8, he chased down Mustangs quarterback Anthony Grigsby Jr. and put his hands up as Grigsby tried to throw a pass over him.

Hall got a hand on the ball, it bounced off Grigsby’s shoulder and Hall juggled the ball before securing it for an interception at the Cal Poly 5.

The only negative was that Grigsby tackled Hall 1 yard short of the end zone as he tried to score the game’s second pick-six.

One play later, NaQuari Rogers scored from 1 yard out to make it 28-6.

“I kind of went up a little bit too high, but the ball hit my hand and I just kind of made the play,” Hall said of the interception. “And it was exciting to celebrate with the guys. Man, it’s amazing.”