Dampier finished with four passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown.

(William Wotring | AP) Utah Utes quarterback Devon Dampier (4) makes a pass during the first half of an NCAA college football game against West Virginia Mountaineers, Saturday, Sept, 27, 2025, in Morgantown, W.Va.

Morgantown, W.Va. • A week ago, all Kyle Whittingham could do was compliment his punter.

“Looking for positives, I thought a punter punted the ball very well. He did a good job,” Whittingham said of Orion Phillips, following Utah’s 34-10 loss to Texas Tech last Saturday.

It was the only good thing Utah’s head coach could honestly say about his team that afternoon. This weekend, however, Whittingham couldn’t say anything about Phillips.

Why? Because the Utes (4-1, 1-1 Big 12) didn’t punt the ball once in their 48-14 blowout win over West Virginia on Saturday.

That’s usually a good sign.

“We were very balanced,” Whittingham said on Saturday. “We had over 500 yards of offense and 200-plus rushing and 200-plus throwing. So a lot of good stuff going on there.”

The Ute offense looked like the well-oiled machine that catapulted it to a 3-0 start on Saturday. Junior quarterback Devon Dampier was back to his old self, finishing the contest with 237 passing yards, a career-high four touchdowns and one interception.

“[We wanted] to use last week as fuel,” Dampier said. “In the facility, we had a two-day rule, as soon as we go over it’s on to the next game, and [we have to] focus on our next opponent.”

He also had 11 rushes for 33 rushing yards and one touchdown on the ground. But in this game — following a week of social media chatter and speculation surrounding the quarterback’s health — Dampier made things happen through the air.

He sliced and diced the Mountaineers’ defense from the pocket. The quarterback’s longest throw of the day came on a 32-yard touchdown floater to redshirt senior wide receiver Ryan Davis, who played with Dampier at New Mexico.

(William Wotring | AP) Utah Utes players celebrate after defeating West Virginia Mountaineers, Saturday, Sept, 27, 2025, in Morgantown, W.Va.

Dampier made other impressive throws, too, answering questions about his ability as a passer.

“We have the best offensive line in the country,” Dampier said. “Instead of taking those running lanes, I was able to make a lot more plays just sitting in the pocket today. That was a little bit of the emphasis. We take whatever the defense gives us.”

Outside of Dampier, the Utes also made noise on the ground. Seven different players touched the ball, combining for 242 rush yards and averaging 5.1 yards per carry.

Successfully running the ball helped open up Utah’s passing attack in a big way, which was something that was lacking against Texas Tech. In that contest, Utah’s run attack was limited to 101 yards and 3.1 yards per carry.

“We know that that was something that hurt us last week, and we needed to be able to push the ball down the field better,” Whittingham said. “We did that this week. Receivers stepped up to answer the challenge. We had a good scheme going in — a dose of running, pass and play action off the run.”

Another positive for Utah’s offense was Davis. He nabbed seven receptions for 107 yards and one touchdown. He’s quickly taking over as Utah’s No. 1 wide receiver, while Whittingham and the Utes wait for other playmakers to step up at that position.

“Ryan’s got a great feel for finding the open space,” Whittingham said. “He’s a very crafty receiver with great hands, toughness and courage.”

With Utah’s first Big 12 win of the season under its belt, the program will now slide into the bye week with its offense back on track. The next stretch of games, however, will be an even bigger test.

Utah Utes offensive lineman Jaren Kump (68) and Utah Utes offensive lineman Michael Mokofisi (52) block West Virginia Mountaineers defensive lineman Eddie Kelly Jr. (1) during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept, 27, 2025, in Morgantown, W.Va. (AP Photo/ William Wotring)

First up is a meeting with the defending Big 12 champions, Arizona State, on Oct. 11. and then a matchup against in-state rival BYU a week later.

There, the Utes will learn if they’re real conference-title contenders and if their new-look offense can hang with the big dogs at top of the conference.

“You don’t want to sit on a loss ever — but sitting on it for two weeks is double the torture,” Whittingham said. “It’s really big to be able to end the first half of the season on a positive note.

“Hopefully that gives us momentum heading into the next contest.”