PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Devon Dampier led Utah's attack in the air and on the ground in a 43-10 victory over touted transfer Nico Iamaleava and UCLA on Saturday night in the teams' season opener.
The former Pac-12 rivals each sported new quarterbacks and new offensive coordinators.
Iamaleava led Tennessee to the College Football Playoff last season and then abruptly left to head closer to home and play for the Bruins (0-1). He was 11 of 22 for 136 yards with one TD and one interception. Offensive coordinator
and QB coach Tino Sunseri came to Westwood from Indiana, where the Hoosiers averaged 41.3 points — second-best in the nation — and reached the CFP.
Dampier followed offensive coordinator Jason Beck from New Mexico to Salt Lake City after the Lobos ranked fourth in the FBS with 484.3 yards per game a year ago. Dampier was 21 of 25 for 206 yards and two touchdowns.
Both quarterbacks were their teams' leading rushers. Dampier led the Utes (1-0) with 16 carries for 87 yards, while Iamaleava had 13 carries for 47 yards.
The Utes led 20-0 on TD runs of 13 yards by Wayshawn Parker and 8 yards by two-way star Smith Snowden in the first quarter. The team piled up 256 yards of offense in the first half and finished with 492.
The Bruins' lone TD came on Iamaleava's 19-yard pass to former Utah player Anthony Woods in the second quarter.
Utah: Dampier and Beck picked up where they left off in New Mexico and that should bode well in curing last season's offensive woes. Another New Mexico transfer, NaQuari Rogers, scored the Utes' final TD.
UCLA: It's going to take more than Iamaleava to create excitement. His debut drew just 35,032 to the Rose Bowl, and many Bruins fans left early while Utah fans made a strong showing.
Utah hosts Cal Poly on Sept. 6.
UCLA visits UNLV on Sept. 6.
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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
