Utah's O-line recognized with weekly Big 12 honor

Coming off a dominant performance against Arizona State, Utah's offensive line was recognized on Monday as the Big 12's offensive line of the week.

The Utes received the weekly honor for the second time in 2025 after thoroughly controlling the line of scrimmage in their 42-10 victory over the Sun Devils on Saturday.

Utah's front line didn't allow Devon Dampier to get sacked and paved the way for the dual-threat quarterback to rush for a season-high 120 yards and three touchdowns in the win over Arizona State, helping the Utes improve to 5-1 on the season ahead of their pivotal rivalry game at BYU in Week 8.

In total, Utah ran the ball 42 times for 276 yards and had its most rushing touchdowns against an Associated Press Top 25 team (six). It was also the fifth time in program history that the Utes scored six touchdowns on the ground.

Oct 11, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Utes quarterback Devon Dampier (4) scores a touchdown against the Arizona State Sun Devils during the third quarter at Rice-Eccles Stadium. | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

"When coach Whittingham says that's the best O-line he's had, I mean, that tells you all you need to know," said Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham after the game. "And firsthand, I mean, I haven't played them all; but, man, that was a good one, and this scheme suits them, with the triple and the plus one runs."

The Sun Devils entered the matchup as a top-10 team against the run, yielding only 78.2 yards on the ground through their first five games. Utah quickly outpaced that average with 183 rushing yards in the first half, 71 of which came on a six-play drive near the end of the second quarter.

The Utes' fifth game this season with at least 240 rushing yards brought their average up to 248.2 rushing yards per contest, which ranks No. 1 in the Big 12 and No. 8 in the Football Bowl Subdivision group. Utah's also one of 12 teams in the FBS with 19 or more rushing touchdowns through its first six games.

"We trust those boys up front," Dampier said after the Arizona State game. "Our front five — I trust those guys over anybody. So, yeah, I mean, we take whatever the defense gives us, and our run game was moving."

Utah will face quite the challenge Saturday when it faces a BYU squad that's yet to allow over 200 rushing yards in a game this season. The Cougars check in as the Big 12's No. 2 run defense, allowing just 104.2 rush yards per game and 3.1 yards per carry.

Utah previously took home the Big 12's offensive line of the week award after rushing for 286 yards and four touchdowns in its 43-10 victory over UCLA in Week 1.

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