It was mission accomplished for the Utes on Thursday as they throttled the Idaho State Bengals 56-14 at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
The Utah defense started the contest strong with defensive ends Nate Orchard and Hunter Dimick each recording sacks on the first series. Soon after, the Utes put their first points on the board as running back Bubba Poole ran six yards for the opening score.
Unphased by the 7-0 road deficit, the Bengals went on a scoring drive of their own capped off by a three-yard touchdown reception by Broc Malcom from quarterback Justin Arias.
Like they did for most of the night, the Utes responded quickly on offense. Junior running back Devontae Booker scampered down the sideline for a 61-yard gain off of a Travis Wilson screen pass and Wilson punched it into the end zone seconds later with an aerial dive over the pylon.
Idaho State mounted another offensive drive to within the Utah red zone early in the second quarter, but was forced to settle for a field goal try. Senior cornerback Eric Rowe had other plans as he blocked the ensuing try to keep the score 14-7 in favor of the Utes.
The Utah offense continued their speedy work, using a 37-yard reception by senior receiver Dres Anderson to set up a 38-yard touchdown run for Booker to make the score 21-7. Booker, who had not played a single down in a game since 2012, was ecstatic to be on the field playing someone besides his own teammates.
“It felt good just being under the lights and having that many fans out here watching me and the whole team today,” Booker said. “It just felt good today.”
Booker finished the night as the Utes’ leading rusher, netting 78 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries.
A few series later, Kaelin Clay began his MVP-worthy night as he returned an ISU punt 46 yards to the house, weaving in between several would-be Bengal tacklers. Later in the third quarter, Clay returned his first kickoff return of the season 100 yards to the end zone to give him his second touchdown of the night, as well as the Utes’ second special teams touchdown.
“It felt great,” Clay said. “I pride myself on special teams. It’s a unit that kind of goes unnoticed so I take a lot of pride in it.
After exchanging the ball with the Bengals a few times, the Utes found themselves with the ball on their own 26-yard line with 35 seconds remaining in the first half. Instead of taking a knee and going into the half up 21 points, the Utes decided to try and execute their two-minute offense.
Travis Wilson hurled the ball down field and found his favorite target in Dres Anderson for a 48-yard reception with 27 seconds left in the half. Two plays later, Wilson found Kenneth Scott for the 26-yard touchdown reception that put the Utes up 35-7 at the half.
From then on, it was walk in the park for the Utes for a majority of the second half. Second string players like quarterback Kendal Thompson, running back Troy McCormick and defensive tackle Lowell Lotulelei made impact plays in the second half for the Utes as they walked out of Rice-Eccles Stadium with the 1-0 record they were looking for.
Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham was happy with his team’s performance, but is aware of how much work still remains to get this Utah team back to winning games consistently.
“I am not sure how much more we know about our team after tonight,” Whittingham said. “We were well-coached and we played all 60 minutes. We still have a few things to take a look at that we can get better in.”
The Utes will next host Fresno State Sept. 6 at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1:00 pm MT.
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