Devon Dampier threw for 261 yards and two touchdowns to lead No. 20 Utah to a 43-10 victory over Arkansas in Salt Lake City on Saturday night.
Dampier added 50 yards and two more scores on the ground to help the Utes earn their second win in four seasons over a Southeastern Conference opponent. Noah Bennee had a career-high 113 yards and a touchdown on four catches. Wayshawn Parker totaled 129 yards and three touchdowns on offense.
Utah (2-0) dominated the Razorbacks on both sides of the ball. Offensively, the Utes rolled up 442 total yards and averaged 7.1 yards per play. On defense, Utah had four sacks and forced a turnover while not allowing a touchdown until deep into the fourth quarter.
KJ Jackson threw for 139 yards and an interception for the Razorbacks while completing just 41.2% of his passes. Jackson also finished with a team-high 34 rushing yards. Arkansas (1-1) averaged only four yards per play and generated just 61 rushing yards.
Parker’s 1-yard plunge to cap off Utah’s opening drive gave the Utes a 7-3 lead going into the second quarter. Byrd Ficklin tossed a 36-yard pass to him after reeling in a lateral from Dampier on the first play to set the drive in motion.
The two teams traded interceptions early in the second quarter. Only Utah cashed in on the takeaway.
Jackson Bennee picked off a pass at the Arkansas 24 to set up a 7-yard touchdown run from Dampier three plays later. Utah extended its lead to 29-3 going into halftime on two more touchdowns from Parker. He scored on a 9-yard sprint for his second touchdown of the half and then faked out a defender before taking in a 7-yard pass for his third score with 27 seconds left in the half.
It marked the seventh time in eight games, dating back to last season, where the Utes tallied at least 20 points before halftime.
Dampier’s second touchdown run on a 2-yard keeper gave Utah a 43-3 lead with 12:47 left.
Arkansas finally found the end zone with 6:43 left on Ismael Cisse’s 21-yard catch from backup AJ Hill, who completed eight of 14 passes for 105 yards.