How Devon Dampier, Utah settled in offensively to beat Wyoming

Utes rattled off four consecutive scoring drives after leading the Cowboys, 3-0, at halftime to pull away for 31-6 win

Utah Utes quarterback Devon Dampier (4) before the game against the Wyoming Cowboys at Jonah Field at War Memorial Stadium. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

After committing several miscues and penalties in the first half, the halftime message to Utah's offense during Saturday's contest in Laramie, Wyoming, was quite simple.

The Utes needed sharper execution, particularly on third down, if they were to give their defense any sort of relief after holding the Cowboys scoreless through two quarters of play.

"Third downs is what keeps moving the ball," said Utah quarterback Devon Dampier after his team's 31-6 win over Wyoming. "We had ourselves in third-and-short in the first half, and we weren't getting them."

Utah, which entered Saturday boasting the best third down conversion rate in the country, struggled to keep the chains moving against a Wyoming defense that had been stout in each of the team's first two wins of the season. But the Utes weren't doing themselves any favors with poorly-timed penalties and missteps along the way, including a holding call early in the second quarter that wound up leading to one of missed three field goal tries from freshman kicker Dillon Curtis.

When tallying up the missed kicks, flags and a turnover in the redzone, Utah managed to hold just a 3-point advantage on the scoreboard at the break — despite out-gaining the Cowboys by nearly 200 yards and running 20 more plays from scrimmage.

A switch flipped for Dampier and company at halftime, though, and it started with those money downs.

Sep 13, 2025; Laramie, Wyoming, USA; Utah Utes quarterback Devon Dampier (4) during the first quarter against the Wyoming Cowboys at Jonah Field at War Memorial Stadium. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

"I think our mindset changed," Dampier said. "Every third down, we huddled up and I talked to those boys, 'let's get this third down,' and we got it every time."

Indeed, the Utes were perfect on third down in the second half (5-for-5) after going just 4-for-10 in the first two quarters, spearheading four consecutive scoring drives to break the game wide open by the midway point in the fourth quarter. And while Utah managed its down-and-distance more effectively, it overcame a third-and-21 in the third quarter while holding a 10-0 lead before Dampier found Larry Simmons in the endzone moments later to make it a three possession game.

"I think it's just the mentality that we came out with," Dampier said. "When things started clicking for us, we obviously capitalized on it."

Here's more of what Dampier had to say after Utah's win over Wyoming.

On Utah's first half struggles on offense

"Just finishing drives, capitalizing on third downs. We obviously fixed that in the second half. I mean, the bigger story for the first half is definitely the defense. They held them down to six points the whole game, so, I'm glad we have both sides of the ball."

Sep 13, 2025; Laramie, Wyoming, USA; Utah Utes tight end Hunter Andrews (10) carries the ball for a touchdown as tackle Mike Tauteoli (49) blocks in the fourth quarter against the Wyoming Cowboys at Jonah Field at War Memorial Stadium. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

On fumbling before throwing his second touchdown pass of the game

"I was looking for a receiver and it kind of just slipped out. I trust my O-line that they're holding up, and they were so I was able to pick the ball up without having to dive on it and, just seeing Larry [Simmons] in the back of end zone, he got wide open for me."

On the motivation he got from the defense

"It's huge. Again, last year, it was more of a shootout kind of game (between Wyoming and New Mexico). The fact that we were able to make our struggles on offense, and just to know that there's a defense that's gonna play hard, and even in the locker room halftime they told us, 'We got y'all back, y'all gonna get it clicking.' Just to hear the positive feedback from them and the way they finished the game, huge kudos to them."

Sep 13, 2025; Laramie, Wyoming, USA; Utah Utes defensive tackle Jonah Lea'ea (91), linebacker Lander Barton (8) and defensive tackle Aliki Vimahi (95) combine on a tackle on Wyoming Cowboys running back Terron Kellman (5) in the first quarter at Jonah Field at War Memorial Stadium. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

On needing to clean up penalties

"I thought our boys were playing hard, so maybe some of those calls were a little biased. But that's just being smarter on the field. If you think we're gonna get a block in the back or something, just throwing the hands up, just use your body to make that block — just small details like that. We'll get it figured out."

On what he told Nate Johnson after his fumble

"Nate used to play quarterback, and I told him, quarterback is a very leadership position. You've been in that situation before. Bad things happen all the time. I mean, it's football; it's not going to always go your way. So just getting in his head, telling him [to] get up, don't show that to the crowd. Don't show that to our players. People are looking at you right now ... so carry yourself high. Carry yourself with confidence. One play doesn't define you."