Postgame Notes: Utah at UCLA
8/31/2025 1:03 AM | Football
Utah 43, UCLA 10
Pasadena, Calif. (Rose Bowl)
Saturday, August 30, 2025
Kick: 8:05 p.m. PT | End: 11:06 p.m.
Attendance: 35,032
General
- Head coach Kyle Whittingham is now 168-86 at the helm of the Utah program (since 2005). Whittingham, the winningest coach in program history, also served as an assistant from 1994-2004. In total between his assistant and head coaching spans, Whittingham has been part of 380 games and 253 victories.
- UCLA won the coin toss and deferred to the second half. The Utes defended the North goal to begin the game.
Offense
- As a team, Utah finished with 286 net yards rushing; it was the first time the Utes eclipsed the 200-yard mark on the ground since the win at Oklahoma State on Sept. 21, 2024. The Utes' finished the night with more rushing yards than UCLA had total offense (220).
- Quarterback Devon Dampier made his first start as a member of the Utah program, turning in 293 total yards via 16 rush attempts for 87 yards and 21-of-25 passing for 206 yards.
- After entering the game without a reception during his Utah career, Smith Snowden made six catches for 51 yards and rushed three times for 15 yards and a touchdown.
- Linebacker Lander Barton led the Utes with seven tackles and caught a 14-yard touchdown during the second quarter.
- Running back Wayshawn Parker scored a 13-yard touchdown to cap off Utah's opening drive of the ballgame. It marked the fourth straight season-opening drive that Utah scored a touchdown and fifth straight season that the Utes' season-opening drive has produced points.
- Tight end Dallen Bentley tallied five catches for 51 yards, both career highs, and caught his first-career touchdown.
- The Utes ate up 9:44 of game time during the third quarter as part of a 20-play, 80-yard scoring drive. The time of possession on the drive was the longest for Utah since at least 2020.
- Utah converted on 14-of-16 third-down attempts and was successful in its lone fourth-down try.
Defense
- Cornerback Smith Snowden (rushing) and linebacker Lander Barton (receiving) each scored a touchdown on offense after both started the game on defense. Snowden also lined up as a wide receiver to begin Utah's first offensive drive.
- The last time a Utah defensive player scored an offensive touchdown was in 2023 when Sione Vaki accomplished the feat vs. California, at USC and at Washington.
- According to StatsPerform, the last time an FBS team had two defensive players score offensive touchdowns in the same game was when UCLA did so in 2015.
- Defensive end Logan Fano set a new career-high with 2.0 TFL (1.0 sack); dating back to last season it was Fano's fifth straight game with at least 1.0 TFL.
- Fellow defensive end John Henry Daley made a two-yard sack just before halftime. It marked Daley's second straight season-opener with a sack. He finished the game with 2.0 sacks, his first multi-sack game in his career.
- Linebacker Trey Reynolds made his first career interception during the fourth quarter, returning it 20 yards.
Special Teams
- True freshman kicker Dillon Curtis recorded his first collegiate made field goal with a 54-yard strike as the first half ended. In the available history of Utah Football, it is the longest field goal made by a true freshman.
- Punter Orion Phillips had one punt on the night for 42 yards.
First Quarter Breakdown
Both sides of the ball were firing on all cylinders early. The Utes started the 2025 campaign on offense and used a punishing rushing attack to find paydirt early, rushing for 50 yards on the opening drive. Parker tallied 28 of those, including a 13-yard touchdown run that gave the Utes a 6-0 lead after a missed extra point attempt.
After the defense stopped UCLA on fourth-and-2 to get the ball back at their own 40-yard line. Dampier helped the Utes capitalize on the short field, completing both of his passes on the ensuing drive and rushing for 18 yards before Snowden powered in from eight yards out to make 13-0.
Fano, who batted a pass down on UCLA's first play of the game, recorded a TFL and Utah's first sack of the season on back-to-back plays to force a three-and-out to end the quarter.
Second Quarter Breakdown
Utah kept the offensive momentum moving with a 5-play, 49-yard drive. Dampier threw his first passing touchdown as a Ute to cap the drive, finding Barton for a 14-yard touchdown to push the lead to 20-0.
UCLA responded with its first touchdown of the night on the following possession, but freshman kicker Dillon Curtis drilled his first collegiate field goal attempt from 54 yards as the clock hit zeros to give the Utes a 23-7 edge at the half.
Third Quarter Breakdown
UCLA opened the second half with a field goal to cut the Utah lead to 23-10, but Utah responded with a statement drive. The Utes got the football back with 12:34 left in the quarter and tore off a 20-play, 80-yard scoring drive that took 9:44 off the clock.
Dampier completed 7-of-8 passes for 48 yards and rushed for nine yards on the drive, converting on four third-down tries. The Utes were stopped on 3rd-and-goal at the 2-yard line, but Dampier kept it himself on fourth down and scampered in for the score to make it a 30-10 game.
Fourth Quarter Breakdown
Dampier threw for 66 yards on the first Utah possession in the fourth, completing four passes to four different receivers. Dampier found Tobias Merriweather for a 36-yard gain that set the Utes up at the 2-yard line, and one play later connected with Dallen Bentley in the end zone for his second passing score of the night, giving the Utes a 36-10 edge after a failed two-point try.
Trey Reynolds caused the first turnover of the season when he intercepted his first-career pass and returned it 20 yards to the UCLA 29-yard line. The offense turned the turnover into points, as a 25-yard run by Hunter Andrews set up a 1-yard score by Rogers to give Utah a 43-10 lead with 6:29 left to play.
Utah's defense forced its second three-and-out of the night, allowing the offense to wind the clock down to zero and seal the season-opening win.
