⚡ CFB Dashboard

Utah Football's return was epic, and it was once again a great night to be the Ute. Idaho struggled to do much on offense and couldn't slow down the Utes, as Utah picked up a 66-14 season-opening win. Here are my biggest takeaways from our first look at the 2026 Utah Football team. A Fully Healthy Devon Dampier is going to be Really Fun Dampier won Big 12 newcomer of the year last year, and he wasn't even fully healthy. He's had the whole offseason to recover, and the Vandales had to reckon with Utah's QB 1 at full strength. Dampier was tossing the pigskin all over the field and impressed with several big plays. His scrambling ability was also on full display as he easily scampered for multiple first downs. Dampier took a few too many hits, but it's clear he's going to have a big year. Wayshawn Parker is going to have a Huge Role in this Offense We knew Wayshawn Parker would see plenty of snaps in this offense, but it may even be more than we thought. He had 11 of the team's 23 first-half carries, and only two other carriers went to another running back. Parker scored three touchdowns, with two coming through the air. Parker averaged nearly six yards per carry and was tough to bring down, bouncing off Idaho defenders frequently. As Utah's offensive line builds chemistry, they are lucky to have a special back like Parker who can cover up their missed assignments. Braden Pegan is as Good as Advertised The Utes' top offseason addition hit the ground running. First, he caught a deep pass down the sideline, then impressed with several routes in the short and intermediate game. His first touchdown was really impressive. Peagn shook a Vandels defensive back out of his cleats as he stepped into the Rice-Eccles Stadium end zone for the first time. Then, to start the second half, he brought in another deep ball. Peagn's ability to adjust on the ball was on full display, and he could have had a few more big gains, but Dampier under-threw him a few times. To close out the night, he scored the first touchdown of the second half on a jet sweep, showing off his speed and shiftiness as he found his way into the end zone. The Trenches will be a work in Progress. Utah has an entirely new offensive and defensive line, and it showed in the first half. Utah had to settle for a field goal after the Rabbit Evans fumble recovery due to missed assignments up front. On defense, the starters at tackle did well, but the backups struggled. Utah gave up a 13-play touchdown drive to the Vandals, with most of those yards coming on runs between the tackles. Both offensive and defensive lines settled in as the game wore on, but it's clear both units are still developing. Utah's defense looked like a Morgan Scalley defense. If there was any doubt that Utah's defense wouldn't resemble itself with Colton Swan taking over, they were quickly put to bed. The Utes blitzed like crazy and absolutely embodied that RSNB culture. It was great to see several players impress, like Lance Holtzclaw, Elijah Ellis, and Trey Reynolds. Rabbit Evans return was a huge boost to the secondary's tackling prowess. As we mentioned, the defensive line will need to be better vs Arkansas, but they were still disruptive most of the night.