You can definitely put that one down as a win for Morgan Scalley in his debut season opener as Utah’s head coach.
The Utes beat the Idaho Vandals 66-14 Thursday night at Rice-Eccles Stadium to open the 2026 season in convincing fashion. Though Idaho put up some resistance early, this one was over essentially from the start.
It was a nice game for Utah to work out some of the kinks before it welcomes SEC foe Arkansas to Salt Lake City next Saturday.
Here are three keys from the Utes’ victory.
OC Kevin McGiven has 2 QBs
It has been the expectation that both starting quarterback Devon Dampier and backup Byrd Ficklin would be featured this season, and that was the case Thursday night.
The two played together on a trick play, and both got time leading the Utah offense.
Dampier completed 13 of 18 passes for 176 yards and three touchdowns, and Ficklin went 4 of 8 for 93 yards and two touchdowns.
On the ground, Ficklin finished with 70 yards on eight carries and Dampier totaled 31 yards on six carries.
Neither QB had a rushing touchdown.
It’s safe to say that if Utes offensive coordinator Kevin McGiven wants to switch things up, he has options. It will be interesting to see what wrinkles the offense has in store for the season with two talented signal callers.
Wayshawn Parker couldn’t stay out of the end zone early
With two receiving touchdowns and one on the ground, junior running back Wayshawn Parker could be a huge component of the Utah attack this season.
Read more Live coverage of Utah’s opener against Idaho
Though he finished with just 94 yards of total offense, they came in just over a quarter of play. Once Parker plays in a full game, expect him to put up some hefty numbers.
Of course, it was against Idaho, but if the offensive line can create some seams for Parker to penetrate, his presence could really open the playbook as defenses are forced to stop him.
Utah’s trenches could see some improvement
It ended up not being a major problem, but both Utah’s offensive and defensive lines struggled to get going a bit Thursday.
Eventually, the Utes put pressure on Idaho QB Joshua Wood plenty, even preventing what very well could have been an Idaho touchdown on a pass out to the sideline where the Utah cornerback was beaten.
Idaho’s experienced offensive line, though outmatched by Utah’s talented defense for much of the game, did manage to string together a tactical drive wherein it opened up holes in the Utah defense, eventually leading to the only touchdown of the first half for the Vandals.
But by the second half, the Ute defense showed that Idaho had no business being on the same field, despite a spectacular play by Wood. He evaded a would-be tackle that would have resulted in a huge loss and instead passed it off for a hefty gain that set up an eventual Vandals touchdown.
Utah’s offensive line is still a wildcard, as a game against FCS Idaho is not a great indicator of what they will be this year, but next week Scalley and his staff will have a better understanding of the level of their lines when expected SEC bottom-dweller Arkansas rolls into town for a showdown.
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