‘We definitely enjoyed it’: What you may have missed as Utah brought the fun to its season opener

Two of the biggest figures when Utah took the Rice-Eccles Stadium field Thursday night for its 2026 season opener were starting quarterback Devon Dampier and head coach Morgan Scalley — for obvious reasons.

Dampier is back for his senior year, and after dealing with injury during a successful 2025 campaign, he has his sights set on a memorable season. And more importantly, he’s healthy.

Scalley, meanwhile, became the sixth straight Utah head coach to win the first game of his first full season as coach, as the No. 21 Utes rolled to a 66-14 victory over FCS opponent Idaho.

There were plenty of smiles from Utah fans, coaches and players throughout the night, as the Utes kicked off the new era in style.

“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.”

Watch the video above to get reactions from players and Scalley after the win, as well as a look into the atmosphere of opening night.

On the cutting room floor

This will undoubtedly be talked about numerous times as the season progresses, but one of the side stories to Thursday’s opener was how backup quarterback Byrd Ficklin came in and made contributions — both on the field with Dampier and when QB1 was subbed out with a hefty lead on the scoreboard.

Both Dampier and Scalley talked about the impact Ficklin had in the game, and what he will bring to the field when called upon this season.

“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 blooper reel

It wouldn’t be Week 1 without some mistakes ... and well, I wasn’t exempt from that.

Following the contest, I attempted to shoot a video stand-up on the Rice-Eccles Stadium — and I had forgotten a tripod to steady the camera on.

I had a monopod that has fairly solid balance if the weight is distributed right, so I gave it my best shot with what I had.

It didn’t end particularly well ... and I had to make a game-saving dive to keep the camera falling to the turd on what ended up as my most promising take.

There’s always next week.