The University of Utah Running Utes hosted the University of Idaho Vandals Thursday night. The Utes, led by first year head coach, Morgan Scalley, dominated on both sides of the ball. The Utes racked up 633 yards of total offense, including 9 touchdowns, in 2026 debut.

Photos by: Joe Oliver.

*SALT LAKE CITY – Wayshawn Parker scored a career-high three touchdowns and Devon Dampier threw for a trio of scores as the 21st-ranked Utah football team racked up 633 yards of total offense in a season-opening, 66-14 victory over Idaho in front of 51,444 fans at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

Utah moves to 1-0 on the season while Idaho drops to 0-2 overall.

The Utes have now won 18 straight home openers, not including the 2020 pandemic-shortened season.

Utah’s offense started fast, scoring on five of their six first-half possessions, including a pair of scoring connections between Dampier and Parker, who hauled in multiple scoring passes for the first time in his career. Braden Pegan also snagged his first TD as a Ute in the second quarter and added a rushing score from 12 yards out. Pegan’s four catches for 81 yards led the team and he was one of eight players to catch at least one pass.

Dampier finished the night 13-of-18 for 176 yards and three touchdowns, his eighth straight game with multiple TD’s through the air. Byrd Ficklin contributed to Utah’s air show by throwing for 93 yards while connecting with Noah Bennee and Hunter Andrews for scores. 

Parker has now scored in back-to-back home openers through the air and on the ground. The junior was one of three Utah players to reach 70 yards rushing, with LaMarcus Bell’s 87 yards leading the way and Ficklin adding 70 yards on the ground. Bell and Steve Chavez-Soto also added rushing touchdowns.

Utah’s 364 yards rushing are the highest total since tallying 380 against Baylor a season ago. The Utes also added 269 yards passing, with both numbers surpassing Idaho’s overall total of 225 yards. It was the seventh time Utah went over 500 yards of total offense in its last 13 games with the total of 633 yards, the most by a Utah team since rolling up 662 yards against Colorado in 2022. It also goes down as the seventh-highest single game total in program history.

Utah’s suffocating defense started the evening by forcing turnovers on Idaho’s first two possessions, beginning with Reynolds’ third career interception, followed by a Rabbit Evans fumble recovery. The Vandals were limited to 95 total yards and an average of just 2.5 yards per play in the first half. Karson Kaufusi’s 1.5 TFL’s represented both a Utah game-high and a new personal-best for Kaufusi. Jackson Bennee had a team-high five stops.

*University of Utah Athletics. (2026). Utah Football Game Notes: Week 1.

Photo Gallery by: Joe Oliver