Devon Dampier passed for 206 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another 87 yards and a score, helping Utah to a 43-10 rout of UCLA in the season opener for both teams on Saturday night in Pasadena, Calif.
Dampier, a junior transfer from New Mexico, completed 21 of 25 passes in his team debut for the Utes, who went 14-for-16 on third downs while holding the Bruins to 2-for-11.
UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who went through a much higher publicized transfer from Tennessee in the offseason, completed 11 of 22 passes for 136 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He also ran for a team-high 47 yards on 13 carries.
Utah scored on its first three drives, with two of the touchdowns scored by players who normally play defense for the Utes.
Wayshawn Parker capped the opening 11-play, 75-yard drive with a 13-yard touchdown run. Dillon Curtis missed the point-after try to keep the score 6-0.
After stopping the Bruins on downs on their opening drive, Utah extended its lead to 13-0 when Smith Snowden broke a tackle in the backfield on third-and-3 and cut into the end zone for an 8-yard touchdown run.
Snowden also starts at cornerback for the Utes.
Utah defensive end Logan Fano had a tackle for loss and a sack on consecutive plays to snuff out UCLA’s second drive.
Utah took possession and Dampier hit Lander Barton for a 14-yard touchdown pass off a play-action to make it 20-0 with 12:44 left in the first half.
Barton is a linebacker who was Utah’s leading tackler last season.
Iamaleava hit Anthony Woods out of the backfield for a 19-yard touchdown to cut it to 20-7 with 6:46 left in the half.
Utah converted its first six third-down situations before Dampier was taken down for a loss by UCLA linebacker Isaiah Chisom and the Utes punted with 3:09 left in the half, but the Bruins couldn’t capitalize.
Instead, the Utes got the ball back and Curtis booted a 54-yard field goal with four seconds left to give Utah a 23-7 lead at the half.
Mateen Bhaghani kicked a 46-yard field goal for UCLA on the first drive of the second half to cut it to 23-10, but the Utes answered with a 20-play drive capped by a 2-yard touchdown run by Dampier on fourth-and-goal with 2:50 left in the third quarter to extend the lead to 30-10.
Dampier later hit Dallen Bentley for a 2-yard touchdown pass to make it 36-10 with 10:05 left in the game, and NaQuari Rogers finished off a 1-yard run with 6:29 remaining for a 43-10 lead.
–Field Level Media
