3 takeaways from Utah’s road victory at Iowa State

The way Utah played in the first half against Iowa State Saturday, you might have thought the game would end the same way the Utes’ first three games of the season did, with a big Utah win.

But the Cyclones didn’t go down quietly.

Down 24-3 at halftime, Jimmy Rogers’ staff made the right adjustments against a physical and swarming Ute defense. Keeping the ball in the hands of quarterback Jaylen Raynor and controlling time of possession, Iowa State cut the deficit to 24-17 with 10:48 to play.

However, trusting running back Wayshawn Parker, the Utes had one more touchdown drive in them and eventually put the Cyclones away 31-17.

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Not even the rain can slow Parker down

Coming into the game, some thought wet field conditions might slow down Utah’s rushing attack and allow Iowa State to keep the game close.

It was almost as if Parker took offense to that narrative, because on the first snap of the game he took it directly for a 54-yard run to the house, outrunning the two defenders who had a half-chance to take him down.

The junior running back had two touchdowns and 92 of the Utes’ 112 rushing yards in the first half.

Parker ended with 239 total yards — 174 rushing and 65 receiving — and three touchdowns, two rushing and one receiving.

But outside of No. 1, Utah struggled to get much going on the ground. Quarterback Devon Dampier was the Utes’ second-leading rusher but put up just 16 rushing yards against the Cyclones.

That was uncharacteristic of the QB, who usually flashes his dual threat abilities and gives nightmares to opposing coaches, but Parker’s stellar performance was enough to carry Utah to the finish line.

Penalties kept helping the Cyclones

When Iowa State scored its first three points of the game in the first half, it was largely thanks to Utah’s defensive line lining up offside to stop the quarterback sneak on a fourth and 1.

On another two sequences, the Cyclones were gifted a pass interference penalties that helped Iowa State score two touchdowns.

Utes head coach Morgan Scalley was not happy postgame with these unnecessary penalties that caused his team to shoot itself in the foot. While Utah still came away with the victory, it is an area Scalley will surely address before his squad goes up against a more formidable foe.

Utah faced adversity for the first time this season — and was up to the challenge

After halftime when the score was 24-3, it appeared Utah would come out in the second half to put the Cyclones under.

On one hand, the Utes did bend in allowing Iowa State to get within just a touchdown, but on a more positive note, Utah didn’t break in both its first road game and its first Big 12 game of the season.

But credit to Dampier, he was able to find his rhythm once again and feed the right players, namely Parker, to lift his team at the end by managing one more touchdown score to bury the Cyclones.