Upcoming Event: Football at Wyoming on September 13, 2025 at 6 p.m.
6 p.m.
Football
at Wyoming
Postgame Notes: Utah vs. Cal Poly
9/6/2025 8:43 PM | Football
Postgame Notes
No. 25 Utah 63, Cal Poly 9
Salt Lake City, Utah (Rice-Eccles Stadium)
Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025
Kick: 4:03 p.m. MT | End: 7:19 p.m.
Attendance: 51,463 (sellout)
Â
General
Offense
Defense
Special Teams
First Quarter Breakdown
Utah opened the game in explosive fashion in front of its home crowd. The Utes needed just six plays to go 75 yards on the opening drive, the majority of which came when Devon Dampier connected with Wayshawn Parker for a 52-yard touchdown to put the Utes up, 7-0.
Â
Jackson Bennee made it a 14-0 game when he tallied Utah's first interception of the season and returned it 46 yards for the score. That extends Utah's streak of consecutive years with a pick-six to 22, the longest known streak in FBS history.
Â
Cal Poly was able to get the ball into Utah territory for the first time on the ensuing possession, but a tackle for loss by John Henry Daley and Trey Reynolds held the Mustangs to a field goal.
Â
Second Quarter Breakdown
Utah used a 12-play, 65-yard drive to put another touchdown on the board early in the second quarter. Dampier was 5-of-6 on the drive, connecting with Ryan Davis from four yards out to make it 21-3.Â
Â
Nate Ritchie forced the first three-and-out of the day with a TFL on third-and-one, but Utah gave the ball right back with a punt of its own. Cal Poly connected on another field goal to make it a 21-6 game with 4:21 left in the half.Â
Â
Utah's offense was stopped on its next possession, but a punt from Orion Phillips pinned the Mustangs inside their own 10-yard line. With the offense backed up, Johnathan Hall nabbed his second-career interception and set the offense up at the 1-yard line. NaQuari Rogers punched it in on the next play to put Utah up 28-6 with 1:44 left to play.
Â
Utah forced a punt to get one more possession before the half. Rayshawn Glover got his first chance to return a punt in 2025 and made the most of it, tallying a career-long 51-yard return - the longest by a Ute since 2021 - to set the Utes up at the 30-yard line with 39 seconds left on the clock. Rogers scored from a yard out once again, this time on fourth-and-goal with three seconds left on the clock, to give the Utes a 35-3 lead at the break.
Â
Third Quarter Breakdown
Utah forced another three-and-out to open the second half, and the Utes orchestrated a 10-play, 70-yard drive to go up 42-6. Dampier completed 3-of-3 passes for 42 yards and rushed for 14 on the drive, connecting with Dallen Bentley for an 11-yard touchdown for his third passing TD of the game.
Â
A sack by John Henry Daley forced another three-and-out and Utah took possession right at midfield after the punt. Byrd Ficklin came in to lead the offense but it was Wayshawn Parker who stole the show, breaking off a 43-yard touchdown run to extend the Utah lead to 49-6 with 7:12 remaining.Â
Â
After Utah forced Cal Poly to punt for the fourth drive in a row, Ficklin and the Utah offense took over at their own five-yard line. His first collegiate pass went for 32 yards to Rogers, and he capped the drive with a 38-yard touchdown run. Utah needed just six plays to go 95 yards, the Utes' longest drive since 2021.
Â
Fourth Quarter Breakdown
Cal Poly hit a 51-yard field goal to make it 56-9 with 11:13 left to play. The Utes got the ball back and drained 9:01 off the clock with a 15-play, 75-yard drive made up of 14 runs and one pass. Nate Johnson rushed for 34 yards on the drive before Ficklin scored from two yards out to push the lead to 63-9 with 2:12 remaining.
Â
The Utah defense stopped Cal Poly on fourth down with 10 seconds remaining, allowing the Utes to come out in victory formation.
Â
Â
No. 25 Utah 63, Cal Poly 9
Salt Lake City, Utah (Rice-Eccles Stadium)
Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025
Kick: 4:03 p.m. MT | End: 7:19 p.m.
Attendance: 51,463 (sellout)
Â
General
- Today was the first meeting in recorded history between Utah and Cal Poly. All-time against current members of the Big Sky Conference, Utah is now 56-12-2.
- Head coach Kyle Whittingham, the winningest leader in program history, is now 169-86 at the helm of the Utes (since the 2004 Fiesta Bowl). Including Whittingham's time as an assistant coach (1994-2004), he has been part of 254 victories and 381 games—both the most of any coach in program history.
- Not including the pandemic-altered 2020 season, Utah has now won 17 straight home openers inside Rice-Eccles Stadium.
- Today's attendance of 51,463 was the 90th straight sellout of Rice-Eccles Stadium for games with fans in the stands. It dates back to the 2010 season opener.
- Cal Poly won the coin toss and deferred. Utah defended the North goal to begin the game.
- At halftime, the University of Utah inducted Roy Jefferson and former head coach Ron McBride into its Ring of Honor, joining inaugural inductee Alex Smith. Click here to read more about Jefferson and McBride.
Offense
- Utah as a team combined for 518 total yards of offense (245 pass, 273 rush). The passing and rushing numbers for the team were each more than Cal Poly had in total offense (223).
- Quarterback Devon Dampier accounted for 217 yards of total offense with a 17-of-23 passing line (192 yards, 3 TD) while also rushing four times (25 yards). It was the first three-touchdown passing game for a Utah QB since Isaac Wilson did so on the road at Utah State in 2024.
- Dampier had four completions of 15-plus yards, with a season-long 52-yard strike going to Wayshawn Parker for a touchdown. All told, Dampier's chunk completions totaled 120 yards.
- Fellow quarterback Byrd Ficklin relieved Dampier in the third quarter and completed all four of his pass attempts for 53 yards. He also rushed five times for 55 yards and two touchdowns.
- For the second straight game, Utah scored a touchdown on its opening drive. Both were scored by running back Wayshawn Parker (rushing at UCLA, receiving vs. Cal Poly).
- Parker's touchdown came on a 52-yard reception, his longest at Utah. It ties the longest of his career, a 52-yard catch during the 2024 season when Parker played at Washington State.
- Parker also had a 43-yard run during the game, his longest as a member of the Utah program.
- Wide receiver Ryan Davis reeled in his first touchdown reception as a Utah Ute, coming on a five-yard pass from Dampier in the second quarter. Davis now has five touchdown receptions in his career.
- Tight end Hunter Andrews made his first three receptions as a Utah Ute for 19 yards, while also setting a career-high with five rushing attempts.
- Tight end Dallen Bentley set a new career-long with a 24-yard reception.
Defense
- Today's game was the first since Aug. 29, 2024 that the Utah defense held its opponent without an offensive touchdown.
- Utah held Cal Poly without a third-down conversion on the Mustangs' first three attempts. From that point on, the Mustangs were 3-of-10 the rest of the game on third down.
- The team totaled nine TFL, three sacks and seven passes defended (five PBU, two interceptions).
- For the second straight game, cornerback Smith Snowden started on both sides of the ball.
- Safety Jackson Bennee made an interception during the first quarter and returned it 46 yards for a touchdown. It was Bennee's first career interception and extended Utah's FBS-record streak to 22 consecutive seasons with a pick-six (since 2004).
- Utah's 22 straight seasons with a pick-six is the longest known streak in FBS history. In that time, Utah has amassed 49 interception return touchdowns—the most in FBS during that timeframe (Alabama has the next most with 45).
- Bennee added three pass breakups—one short of tying the Utah single-game record—along with a career-high-tying five tackles.
- Linebacker Johnathan Hall added an interception of his own, nearly getting into end zone before being brought down at the one-yard line. It was Hall's second career interception.
- Defensive end John Henry Daley set career-highs in tackles (4) and TFL (2.5). Position mate Kash Dillon had personal-bests as well with three tackles, 1.0 TFL and 1.0 sack.
- Defensive end Paul Fitzgerald made six tackles (1.5 TFL, 0.5 sack) after entering the game with four total stops as a member of the Utah program. It was his most since the 2023 season when Fitzgerald played at Utah State.
- Freshman Brock Fonoimoana made his Utah debut and contributed four stops (0.5 TFL).
- Linebacker Trey Reynolds tied his career-high with four tackles (0.5 TFL).
- Other players to make their first career tackles included Cyrus Polu (2) and Elijah Elliss (2).
Special Teams
- Rayshawn Glover returned a punt 51 yards late in the second quarter; it was a career-long punt return for Glover and longest by a Utah player since Britain Covey's 78-yard return vs. Oregon in the 2021 regular season.
- Punter Orion Phillips averaged 42.3 yards on three punts, landing one inside the Cal Poly 20-yard line.
- Kicker Dillon Curtis was perfect on his nine PAT attempts, tying for third in program history for a single game. It was the seventh time (and first since 2022) that a Utah kicker made nine PATs in a game—the school record is 10.
First Quarter Breakdown
Utah opened the game in explosive fashion in front of its home crowd. The Utes needed just six plays to go 75 yards on the opening drive, the majority of which came when Devon Dampier connected with Wayshawn Parker for a 52-yard touchdown to put the Utes up, 7-0.
Â
Jackson Bennee made it a 14-0 game when he tallied Utah's first interception of the season and returned it 46 yards for the score. That extends Utah's streak of consecutive years with a pick-six to 22, the longest known streak in FBS history.
Â
Cal Poly was able to get the ball into Utah territory for the first time on the ensuing possession, but a tackle for loss by John Henry Daley and Trey Reynolds held the Mustangs to a field goal.
Â
Second Quarter Breakdown
Utah used a 12-play, 65-yard drive to put another touchdown on the board early in the second quarter. Dampier was 5-of-6 on the drive, connecting with Ryan Davis from four yards out to make it 21-3.Â
Â
Nate Ritchie forced the first three-and-out of the day with a TFL on third-and-one, but Utah gave the ball right back with a punt of its own. Cal Poly connected on another field goal to make it a 21-6 game with 4:21 left in the half.Â
Â
Utah's offense was stopped on its next possession, but a punt from Orion Phillips pinned the Mustangs inside their own 10-yard line. With the offense backed up, Johnathan Hall nabbed his second-career interception and set the offense up at the 1-yard line. NaQuari Rogers punched it in on the next play to put Utah up 28-6 with 1:44 left to play.
Â
Utah forced a punt to get one more possession before the half. Rayshawn Glover got his first chance to return a punt in 2025 and made the most of it, tallying a career-long 51-yard return - the longest by a Ute since 2021 - to set the Utes up at the 30-yard line with 39 seconds left on the clock. Rogers scored from a yard out once again, this time on fourth-and-goal with three seconds left on the clock, to give the Utes a 35-3 lead at the break.
Â
Third Quarter Breakdown
Utah forced another three-and-out to open the second half, and the Utes orchestrated a 10-play, 70-yard drive to go up 42-6. Dampier completed 3-of-3 passes for 42 yards and rushed for 14 on the drive, connecting with Dallen Bentley for an 11-yard touchdown for his third passing TD of the game.
Â
A sack by John Henry Daley forced another three-and-out and Utah took possession right at midfield after the punt. Byrd Ficklin came in to lead the offense but it was Wayshawn Parker who stole the show, breaking off a 43-yard touchdown run to extend the Utah lead to 49-6 with 7:12 remaining.Â
Â
After Utah forced Cal Poly to punt for the fourth drive in a row, Ficklin and the Utah offense took over at their own five-yard line. His first collegiate pass went for 32 yards to Rogers, and he capped the drive with a 38-yard touchdown run. Utah needed just six plays to go 95 yards, the Utes' longest drive since 2021.
Â
Fourth Quarter Breakdown
Cal Poly hit a 51-yard field goal to make it 56-9 with 11:13 left to play. The Utes got the ball back and drained 9:01 off the clock with a 15-play, 75-yard drive made up of 14 runs and one pass. Nate Johnson rushed for 34 yards on the drive before Ficklin scored from two yards out to push the lead to 63-9 with 2:12 remaining.
Â
The Utah defense stopped Cal Poly on fourth down with 10 seconds remaining, allowing the Utes to come out in victory formation.
Â
Â
Players Mentioned
TE
/ Football
S
/ Football
TE
/ Football
K
/ Football
DE
/ Football
QB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
DE
/ Football
LB
/ Football
QB
/ Football
DE
/ Football
S
/ Football
WR
/ Football
LB
/ Football
ATH
/ Football
RB
/ Football
P
/ Football
LB
/ Football
LB
/ Football
S
/ Football
RB
/ Football
CB
/ Football
QB
/ FootballUtah: 63, Cal Poly: 9 | POST GAME PRESS CONFERENCE
Saturday, September 06
Crimson Corner with Bill Riley - Ron McBride
Wednesday, September 03
Head Coach Kyle Whittingham weekly press conference - 9.1.25
Monday, September 01
Utah Football Postgame Press Conference | Utah: 43, UCLA: 10
Sunday, August 31