(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Coach Kyle Whittingham on the sidelines as Utah hosts Cal Poly, NCAA football in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025.
Despite notching a 54-point victory, Kyle Whittingham still has questions about Utah’s offense.
The Utes defeated Cal Poly 63-9 on Saturday in Salt Lake City. Against the Mustangs, Utah had 518 yards, seven offensive touchdowns and 24 first downs. Utah has accrued more than 400 yards of total offense in both of its two games so far.
But junior quarterback Devon Dampier and the offense got off to a sluggish start, punting on three of their first five drives.
“[We] weren’t quite as in sync offensively as we were in the game last week,” Whittingham said. “We never got into that rhythm that we were in last week, consistently, but there were some really bright spots and good things that happened.”
So, what was the cause?
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Utes quarterbacks Devon Dampier (4) looks for an opening against Cal Poly, NCAA football in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025.
“I don’t think that Devon was ripping the ball as well as he could have during that 15- or 20-minute period,” Whittingham said. “We just didn’t get in that rhythm. We didn’t come out — I’m not going to say we weren’t ready because we were ready to play — executing as well as we did last week.”
The Utes were able to get their legs under them, however. Dampier completed 74% of his passes for 193 passing yards and a game-high three passing touchdowns, tying his career-high.
Sophomore running back Wayshawn Parker also had a strong game, finishing with 50 rushing yards and 52 receiving yards for two total touchdowns. Both of his scores came on explosive plays.
“It got the team juiced, coming back to the sideline,” Parker said of his first score on Saturday. “I know I scored, but I feel like the whole team scored on that. So when I got that first touchdown at Rice-Eccles Stadium, it felt real nice.”
Dampier is still feeling positive about Utah’s offensive direction, despite some blemishes. He says the early miscues will serve as a lesson down the road.
“I thought no one was low on effort,” Dampier said. “The mental issues we just have to clean up. Obviously, that’s going to happen with every game. We have to learn from those [early on] and go into the next week a little bit tighter.”
Utah still wants more out of its wide receivers
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Utes wide receiver Tobias Merriweather (18) pulls in a pass as Utah hosts Cal Poly, NCAA football in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025.
The Utes are still looking for more playmakers in their receiver room.
Senior Ryan Davis led all of Utah’s pass catchers with six receptions, 58 yards and one touchdown. Junior Tobias Merriweather had three receptions for 37 yards.
At the beginning of the week, Whittingham said he’d like to see more out of Merriweather and the rest of Utah’s wide receivers moving forward.
His tune was the same after Saturday’s game.
“They’re still a work in progress,” Whittingham said. “The receiver position in and of itself is a work in progress. We’ve got about four guys right now, five guys that we really have trust in, and we’re waiting for another guy or two to join that group.”
Byrd Ficklin impresses. What about Isaac Wilson?
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Utes quarterback Byrd Ficklin (15) looks for an opening as Utah hosts Cal Poly, NCAA football in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025.
After he had three passing touchdowns and a massive lead, the Utes pulled Dampier midway through the third quarter.
Instead of playing backup quarterback Isaac Wilson, Whittingham and new offensive coordinator Jason Beck opted to give freshman quarterback Byrd Ficklin the keys to the offense for the rest of the game.
The Ute head coach said preserving Wilson’s redshirt was part of the decision.
“That’s part of the equation right now, absolutely,” Whittingham said. “It was that, plus getting a look at Byrd, who we’ve never seen in live action. So the combination of not squandering games, at least right now with Isaac, and needing to get a good look at Byrd … that led to what you saw today with Byrd getting all the reps when Devon exited the game.”
In limited action, Byrd finished with 53 passing yards, 55 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. His best play of the game came on a 38-yard scramble, where he juked and stiff-armed multiple Mustang defenders.
“I thought Byrd was electric,” Dampier said postgame. “We’ve all seen him, especially in spring ball and fall camp. But he showcased that he can get on that field and ball.
“Obviously behind me, we have two great quarterbacks that are ready to go in there and ball at any time.”
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