3 takeaways from No. 10 Utah’s ‘GameDay’ victory over No. 14 Houston

After going down 10-0 in the third quarter Saturday night against the Houston Cougars, it was time for the Utah Ute offense to turn things on.

After a struggle in the first half that included a terribly awry field goal attempt, quarterback Devon Dampier answered the call and marched the offense down the field for a quick touchdown to put Utah on the board, and the Utes ultimately won, 21-13.

Dampier finished with 354 total yards and Utah’s defense shined as the Utes now find themselves atop the Big 12 standings on a day in which BYU and Texas Tech both lost their first games of the season.

Utah is just one of three undefeated teams remaining in the country, alongside Miami and UCLA.

New playbook section unlocked

For much of the season, despite some fun variations in the Ute offense, it always seemed there was still something being held back in Utah’s playbook — Dampier’s legs.

In the 2025 season, the quarterback rushed for 835 yards, but in 2026, he had only ran for 198 through six games entering Saturday, but perhaps this was his breakout game.

In addition to his yardage, he scored two rushing touchdowns. He did throw two interceptions, but he ultimately made the plays needed to help the Utes win.

On a night when Wayshawn Parker only ran for 47 yards, the ground game was generated through Dampier. It was not always perfect or easy going for the offense, especially in the first half, but three rushing touchdowns against the Cougars helped Utah get the victory.

Utah’s pressure got to Houston

Still waiting on a sack from one of its defensive ends, Utah made things difficult for Houston quarterback Conner Weigman and the rest of the Cougar offense, especially in the second half.

Pressure on Weigman made it difficult for Houston to get much going, including a big hit by Jackson Bennee late that caused a fumble to put Dampier and company in business inside Houston’s 10.

Dampier scored a touchdown on the next play for the game’s final points.

The Ute defense stiffened up multiple times to keep the home side in the game. The first came when the Cougars turned it over on downs in the first quarter while they were inside the five instead of opting for a field goal.

Utah held the visitors to field goals on two other occasions, only allowing one touchdown on the first drive of the second half that took more than half of the third quarter.

While the offense struggled for large stretches, the defense left the team with opportunities.

The lone big victory for the Big 12 in a nightmare weekend

The Big 12 was riding high after last weekend resulted in three teams from the conference in the top 10 and four in the top 15.

But after this weekend the momentum was all but lost, except for one team.

As Texas Tech traveled north to Cincinnati and BYU took a cross-country trip to take on UCF, Utah became the last hope for the Big 12 after Tech fell and BYU lost a double-overtime shocker.

Before this weekend, there was a plausible path for the Big 12 to have at least three teams in the College Football Playoff, but now the conference will be set back.

With five games left in the regular season, Utah is the leader of the pack as coach Morgan Scalley and company look toward a difficult stretch of the season.

The final undefeated Big 12 team will travel to Cincinnati, host what will be a highly anticipated BYU team in a rivalry matchup and then travel to Tucson to take on a ranked Arizona team.

Through the difficult stretch of games, the Utes not only carry the burden of the Utah fan base, but the Big 12 as a whole.