Utah Football: Dampier's 266-Yard Performance Ends BYU's Rivalry Streak
The No. 3 Utes defeated No. 7 BYU 28-20, stopping a three-game losing streak in the Holy War with four touchdowns from their dual-threat quarterback.
By Lina Lewis ·
Devon Dampier produced 266 yards of total offense, a figure that anchored the No. 3 Utah Utes to a 28-20 victory over No. 7 BYU on Saturday in Salt Lake City. The win snapped a three-game losing streak for Utah in the annual Holy War matchup and kept the Utes undefeated at 9-0.
Dampier accounted for all four of Utah's touchdowns, two by passing and two by running. He threw two scores to Braden Pegan and found the end zone himself on 22-yard and 3-yard runs. The Utes started fast, covering 138 yards and scoring on their first two drives. That quick burst gave Utah a 14-0 lead with less than five minutes remaining in the first quarter.
The Cougars responded in the second quarter after recovering two fumbles. Legend Glasker caught a 75-yard pass from Bear Bachmeier for a touchdown, and LJ Martin, returning from injury, ran 4 yards for the score to put BYU ahead 20-14 at halftime. Bachmeier finished the game with 272 passing yards and 59 rushing yards, but his accuracy declined sharply after the break.
Utah's defense dominated the second half, intercepting three of Bachmeier's passes. Trey Reynolds and Nate Ritchie both picked off the Cougars quarterback in the fourth quarter. The Utes held BYU to just 39 yards in the third quarter and shut them out entirely in the second half. Bachmeier threw four interceptions in the game, two of which occurred in the end zone.
BYU coach Kalani Sitake blamed the loss on the number of turnovers. "That's an incredible amount of turnovers that we had," Sitake said. "If you know anything about this rivalry, that is not the way to win it." Legend Glasker, who caught seven passes for 118 yards, agreed that the team played with false confidence.
"Going into the second half, we got too big-headed thinking the game was ours," Glasker said. "We thought we had it and we thought they were just gonna bow down to us." The Cougars finished the second half with 111 total yards and 4.0 yards per play.
Utah coach Morgan Scalley praised Dampier's all-around contribution. "All I know is I love him," Scalley said. "He's a competitor. He's a warrior. He wins us football games." Dampier also recorded his first reception at Utah, catching a 29-yard pass thrown in reverse by Creed Whittemore in the third quarter.
The Utes will travel to face No. 24 Arizona on Saturday. BYU will host Baylor in its next game. Utah leads the Bowl Subdivision in first-quarter point differential, outscoring opponents 103-9 in that period across nine games.
