Utes overcome suspect officiating to earn first Big 12 win of season

AMES, Iowa — Coach Morgan Scalley found out a lot about his team after the Utes’ first road trip of the season, and it encouraged him about the journey ahead.

After all, No. 15 Utah invaded a crowd of 52,150 at Jack Trice Stadium, battled through adversity and executed down the stretch to defeat Iowa State 31-17. It was the Utes’ first win away from home of the regular season, in Big 12 play, and the Scalley era.

The Utes started fast out of the gates too, and drew first blood on their initial play of the game. Running back Wayshawn Parker set the tone with a 54-yard touchdown run that silenced the hostile crowd. After that Scalley knew he had to keep his foot on the gas for the rest of the afternoon.

“Credit to Iowa State, and that coaching staff, because we knew this was going to be a fight,” Scalley said. “I thought we started really well, and it really was a game of momentum.”

However, the contest became more chippy after defensive tackle Pupu Sepulona drew a facemask penalty, and the crowd fed into it. Quarterback Devon Dampier led the offense on two additional scoring drives, which included a 24-yard touchdown pass to wideout Braden Pegan, and within a blink of an eye Utah (4-0) was up 17-0 early in the second quarter.

Dampier didn’t appear to be rattled by the crowd noise. Instead the gunslinger played with poise, stuck to the game plan and took advantage of his dual-threat capability.

Still, Dampier took a couple of cheap shots from Iowa State’s defense that Scalley wasn’t happy about. There was also no flag thrown for a late hit on Parker as he laid defenseless on the ground.  To make matters worse, the officials initially threw a flag when a Cyclone defensive back held tight end Noah Bennee in the end zone, but they picked it back up.

Not to mention at the end of the final play of the first half, an Iowa State defender shoved Pegan’s head into the turf, and the officials did nothing. The Utes were penalized five times through the first 30 minutes, and at times it seemed like they couldn’t catch a break. Although Scalley’s squad didn’t receive many favors from the officials, he didn’t let it throw them off their game, and they led 24-3 led at halftime.

“In terms of the extra curricular stuff, that’s up to the referees, and it’s on us that we’re not making it a personal battle, and to do our talking with our pads,” he said. “I don’t want to be the one to get the flag, they understand that it’s a team game, and I’m so proud of the way our guys handled that.”

Iowa State (2-2) made adjustments at halftime, played inspired, and held Utah scoreless in the third quarter. The Cyclones scored 14 unanswered points, and even pulled within a touchdown early in the fourth quarter before a light bulb came back on for the Utes. Morgan never panicked though, and neither did Dampier.

The gunslinger led Utah on a seven-play, 61-yard touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter, that took over four minutes off the clock. Scalley thought the two-touchdown lead over the Cyclones gave the Utes the cushion they needed, and the defense took care of the rest.

“We handled the adversity really well, the crowd, the crowd noise, the ability to get the stops at the end for the offense to convert,” the 46-year old said. “So really proud of how these guys finished.”

Once the smoke cleared, Utah led Iowa State in total offense, rushing yards, passing yards, yards per play, and third down conversions. Dampier completed 18 of his 27 passes for 206 yards and two touchdowns. Parker stole the show with 174 yards on the ground, 65 through the air, and three total touchdowns.

Defensively, Trey Reynolds and Johnathan Hall finished with a team-high, eight tackles apiece. Elijah Ellis generated seven stops, and and a sack. Bennee tallied an interception. Kicker Dillon Curtis nailed a short field goal, but missed another from 31 yards out.

Scalley is proud of the way his offensive line took care of business in the trenches, and the way the defense tightened up in the fourth quarter. The mental mistakes are still an issue for Utah, after committing eight penalties against Iowa State. Scalley is also concerned about offensive execution on third downs. The good outweighs the bad in his mind though, and there’s a lot of positive aspects to build on.

At the end of the day, the Utes are 1-0 in Big 12 play. Scalley understands there’s still a lot of work to be done. Utah has week five off, and Scalley intends on using that time to iron out all of the wrinkles, and get players back healthy. Regardless, the Utes can’t stay complacent after making a statement win, and must remain hungry in their pursuit of a conference title.

“I think it says a lot about our guys’ first road game, and we came out with the win.”