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Postgame Notes: Utah at West Virginia
9/27/2025 6:02 PM | Football
Postgame Notes
Utah 48, (at) West Virginia 14
Morgantown, W. Va. (Milan Puskar Stadium)
Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025
Kick: 3:36 p.m. ET | End: 6:53 p.m.
Attendance: 53,965
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General
Offense
Defense
Special Teams
First Quarter Breakdown
West Virginia took possession first but Utah quickly forced a punt thanks to a third-down stop by Lander Barton. Â The Utes took over on their own 27-yard line, using 12 plays to put the first points of the game on the board. After a bobbled snap on first down, Devon Dampier tactically led the Utes down the field, connecting with Dallin Bentley twice before finding JJ Buchanan for a seven-yard touchdown.Â
Utah's defense forced its first three-and-out of the day to get the ball back and put together an 11-play, 65-yard drive to go up 14-0 with 1:33 left to play. The Utes rushed for 55 yards on the drive, capped by a seven-yard keeper by Dampier for his first rushing touchdown since the season opener.Â
Second Quarter Breakdown
The Mountaineers got the ball into Utah territory on the ensuing possession, but a pass break-up by Smith Snowden on 4th-and-4 set the Utes' offense up at their own 42-yard line. After five rushing plays, Dampier found Ryan Davis for a 32-yard touchdown to make it 21-0 with 11:32 to play.
West Virginia was able to move towards midfield, but once again Utah's defense stood tall. On 3rd-and-1, Nate Tillmon and Trey Reynolds combined for the stop for no gain on the tush push, and on fourth down, John Henry Daley and Elijah Davis got into the backfield to blow up the toss play and force the turnover on downs. An interception by Dampier on the next play would put the ball back in West Virginia's hands.
Utah forced a punt and took over on its own six-yard line with 4:56 left in the half. Utah put together a 15-play, 94-yard drive that took 4:43 off the clock to go up 28-0 at the half. After a false start moved the Utes back to their own three-yard line, Dampier found Buchanan for 13 yards to get out of the shadow of the end zone and later connected with Davis for a 21-yard gain. Another catch by Davis set the Utes up at the goal line, and Dampier logged his third passing touchdown of the half when he found Dallin Bentley for the 2-yard score.
The Utes outgained the Mountaineers, 278-95, in the first half, limiting West Virginia to just 22 yards through the air. The Utes converted on all eight of their third downs in the opening half while stopping West Virginia on six of its nine third-down tries. Â
Third Quarter Breakdown
Dampier kept the offensive momentum rolling out of the break, starting the third quarter with a 10-play, 63-yard touchdown drive. Dampier completed all five of his passes on the drive for 64 yards, including an 11-yard pass to Wayshawn Parker that put the Utes up, 35-0.
West Virginia was able to find its first score of the day, but Utah answered with a field goal to push the lead to 38-7. Parker started the drive with a 40-yard rush to move into WVU territory and set up the 33-yard try from Dillon Curtis.
West Virginia was able to drive deep into Utah territory, but once again the defense stood tall and forced a turnover on downs to retake possession with 1:11 left in the quarter.
Fourth Quarter Breakdown
Byrd Ficklin took over the Utah offense, leading the Utes on a nine-play, 61-yard drive. Ficklin and fellow freshman Daniel Bray rushed a combined five times for 49 yards on the drive, setting up another 33-yard field goal from Curtis to push the Utah lead to 41-7 with 10:46 remaining.
West Virginia answered back with a touchdown drive to cut the lead to 41-14. Ficklin then led the Utes on a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to burn 6:03 off the clock. Ficklin found Larry Simmons for a 41-yard gain on the second play of the drive to get the Utes just outside the red zone, and the offense methodically moved the ball until Ficklin found Bryce Duke open in the end zone on 4th-and-goal from the 2-yard line to make it 48-14.
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Utah 48, (at) West Virginia 14
Morgantown, W. Va. (Milan Puskar Stadium)
Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025
Kick: 3:36 p.m. ET | End: 6:53 p.m.
Attendance: 53,965
Â
General
- Utah is now 3-0 all-time against West Virginia; today was the first regular season meeting between the programs. The Utes and Mountaineers previously squared off in 1964 and 2017.
- Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham is now 171-87 in his 21 seasons at the helm of the Utes. Whittingham's 171 victories at the FBS level place him atop active Big 12 head coaches.
- Including Whittingham's 11 seasons as an assistant coach (1994-2004), he has been part of 256 victories. He has coached in 384 games at Utah and 258 as the head coach.
- Utah won the coin toss and deferred to the second half. The Utes defended the South goal to begin the game.
Offense
- Utah's 48 points scored were the team's most in a conference game since a 55-3 win over Arizona State during the 2023 season. It was the fourth time this season the Utes scored 30-plus points and third time scoring 40-plus. For the season, Utah is averaging 39 points scored per game.
- Quarterback Devon Dampier made his fifth start at Utah and had a 21-of-26 passing line for 237 yards and a career-high four touchdowns. Dampier was never sacked and had one interception. It was his third 200-yard passing game since coming to Utah.
- Dampier also kept the ball 11 times for 33 yards and a touchdown. His seven-yard rushing touchdown late in the first quarter was his second rushing score of the season.
- Wide receiver Ryan Davis caught all seven of his targets for a season-best 107 yards. It included a season-long 32-yard reception that went for a touchdown.
- Tight end Dallen Bentley also had a perfect 5-for-5 line on catching his targets, racking up 59 yards. His two-yard touchdown just before halftime gives Bentley three receiving touchdowns in his Utah career—all in the last five games.
- Tight end JJ Buchanan opened Utah's scoring in the first quarter, reeling in a seven-yard pass from Dampier. It was Buchanan's second touchdown in the last three games.
- Dampier was relieved in the fourth quarter by fellow QB Byrd Ficklin, who passed 4-for-4 for 53 yards and a touchdown along with 10 rushing yards.
- The Utes had six completions of 15-plus yards, including a 32-yard strike from Dampier to Davis as well as a 41-yard connection from Ficklin to Larry Simmons. The latter was both a career-long pass for Ficklin and longest reception for Simmons as a member of the Utah program.
- In the final stages of the second quarter Dampier led a 15-play, 94-yard drive that culminated in Bentley's touchdown reception. It was the second-longest drive of the season for the Utes (95 vs. Cal Poly).
- Running back Daniel Bray made his collegiate debut and quickly totaled 32 yards on three carries. He entered the game late in the third quarter.
- Fellow running back Bryce Duke caught a four-yard touchdown late in the game; it was his first at Utah.
- The Utes went 8-for-13 on third down conversion attempts and were a perfect 8-for-8 in the first half. Utah also was 3-for-3 on fourth down.
- Utah scored double-digit points in all four quarters.
- Safety Jackson Bennee started the game both on offense and defense. Bennee has now made three such starts on the season (Cal Poly, Texas Tech, WVU).
- Utah scored first for the fourth time this season.
Defense
- Utah held WVU to 95 total yards (22 passing, 73 rushing) in the first half in contrast to 278 for the Utes (163 passing, 115 rushing).
- Defensive end Lance Holtzclaw set career-bests both with five tackles and 2.0 TFL.
- Defensive tackle Jonah Lea'ea reset his career-high with eight tackles, tying for the most by a Utah player in the game. Lea'ea also forced a fumble.
- Defensive end John Henry Daley totaled seven stops (1.0 TFL, 0.5 sack). Daley has had at least an assisted sack in every game this season (now totaling 6.5 on the season), after Daley had 1.0 sack across seven games played in 2024.
- Defensive tackle Pupu Sepulona chipped in four stops after entering the game with two as a member of the Utah program.
- Safety Nate Tilmon contributed his first collegiate tackles (7).
- Linebacker Lander Barton set a season-high with eight tackles. Barton also had a hand in a sack late in the first quarter.
- Today marked the fourth time this season that Utah held its opponent scoreless on a game-opening drive, and third time that the Utes' opponent was scoreless in the first quarter.
Special Teams
- Kicker Dillon Curtis drilled a pair of 33-yard field goals and was a perfect 6-for-6 on PAT attempts. Overall, Curtis accounted for 12 points in the game.
- Mana Carvalho saw his first collegiate playing time, contributing on the punt return unit.
- The Utes did not punt at all in the game; the last time the team accomplished that feat was during the 2008 season.
First Quarter Breakdown
West Virginia took possession first but Utah quickly forced a punt thanks to a third-down stop by Lander Barton. Â The Utes took over on their own 27-yard line, using 12 plays to put the first points of the game on the board. After a bobbled snap on first down, Devon Dampier tactically led the Utes down the field, connecting with Dallin Bentley twice before finding JJ Buchanan for a seven-yard touchdown.Â
Utah's defense forced its first three-and-out of the day to get the ball back and put together an 11-play, 65-yard drive to go up 14-0 with 1:33 left to play. The Utes rushed for 55 yards on the drive, capped by a seven-yard keeper by Dampier for his first rushing touchdown since the season opener.Â
Second Quarter Breakdown
The Mountaineers got the ball into Utah territory on the ensuing possession, but a pass break-up by Smith Snowden on 4th-and-4 set the Utes' offense up at their own 42-yard line. After five rushing plays, Dampier found Ryan Davis for a 32-yard touchdown to make it 21-0 with 11:32 to play.
West Virginia was able to move towards midfield, but once again Utah's defense stood tall. On 3rd-and-1, Nate Tillmon and Trey Reynolds combined for the stop for no gain on the tush push, and on fourth down, John Henry Daley and Elijah Davis got into the backfield to blow up the toss play and force the turnover on downs. An interception by Dampier on the next play would put the ball back in West Virginia's hands.
Utah forced a punt and took over on its own six-yard line with 4:56 left in the half. Utah put together a 15-play, 94-yard drive that took 4:43 off the clock to go up 28-0 at the half. After a false start moved the Utes back to their own three-yard line, Dampier found Buchanan for 13 yards to get out of the shadow of the end zone and later connected with Davis for a 21-yard gain. Another catch by Davis set the Utes up at the goal line, and Dampier logged his third passing touchdown of the half when he found Dallin Bentley for the 2-yard score.
The Utes outgained the Mountaineers, 278-95, in the first half, limiting West Virginia to just 22 yards through the air. The Utes converted on all eight of their third downs in the opening half while stopping West Virginia on six of its nine third-down tries. Â
Third Quarter Breakdown
Dampier kept the offensive momentum rolling out of the break, starting the third quarter with a 10-play, 63-yard touchdown drive. Dampier completed all five of his passes on the drive for 64 yards, including an 11-yard pass to Wayshawn Parker that put the Utes up, 35-0.
West Virginia was able to find its first score of the day, but Utah answered with a field goal to push the lead to 38-7. Parker started the drive with a 40-yard rush to move into WVU territory and set up the 33-yard try from Dillon Curtis.
West Virginia was able to drive deep into Utah territory, but once again the defense stood tall and forced a turnover on downs to retake possession with 1:11 left in the quarter.
Fourth Quarter Breakdown
Byrd Ficklin took over the Utah offense, leading the Utes on a nine-play, 61-yard drive. Ficklin and fellow freshman Daniel Bray rushed a combined five times for 49 yards on the drive, setting up another 33-yard field goal from Curtis to push the Utah lead to 41-7 with 10:46 remaining.
West Virginia answered back with a touchdown drive to cut the lead to 41-14. Ficklin then led the Utes on a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to burn 6:03 off the clock. Ficklin found Larry Simmons for a 41-yard gain on the second play of the drive to get the Utes just outside the red zone, and the offense methodically moved the ball until Ficklin found Bryce Duke open in the end zone on 4th-and-goal from the 2-yard line to make it 48-14.
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Tuesday, September 23
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Monday, September 22
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