No. 15 Utah pounds Nebraska in Scalley’s debut at Las Vegas Bowl — PHOTOS
Utah’s Devon Dampier didn’t look bothered by anything after a chaotic week for a Utes program that saw Morgan Scalley thrust into the head coaching job sooner than expected.
The star quarterback earned MVP honors by throwing for 310 yards and a score and adding 148 yards and three touchdowns on the ground as No. 15 Utah cruised to a 44-22 win over Nebraska in Wednesday’s Las Vegas Bowl at Allegiant Stadium.
It was the first victory for Scalley, who officially took charge Friday when Kyle Whittingham accepted the job at Michigan.
“As players, you have change and you’re not sure what’s going to happen, but when you’re led by someone with confidence in himself and the program, it just lifts us up,” Dampier said. “Throughout this trip, he’s allowed us to have the fun of enjoying each other, and then when we got to business, we hit it hard.
“Grateful to Coach Scalley and how he handled everything. That’s what kept us together.”
Nebraska (7-6) led 14-7 early in the second quarter before the Utes (11-2) took over, limiting the Cornhuskers to 40 total yards in the second and third quarters while outscoring them 31-0.
The announced attendance of 38,879 was the most for a Las Vegas Bowl since the game moved to Allegiant Stadium following the 2019 season, surpassing the 32,515 who watched Wisconsin beat Arizona State in 2021.
It’s the ninth-largest crowd ever for the Las Vegas Bowl.
Here are three takeaways from the game:
1. Taking the reins
Scalley prepared for this matchup believing he would be calling his last game as defensive coordinator before taking over as coach next year in what was supposed to be a sendoff for Whittingham.
Instead, he learned days ago his tenure as head coach would start earlier than expected.
He couldn’t have drawn it up much better.
After Nebraska held leads of 7-0 and 14-7, Scalley calmed his group, and the Utes settled into the game.
It was a big challenge for Scalley, considering how much drama had been going on with the controversy of Whittingham’s departure and eventual decision to take the Michigan job.
Scalley proved up to the task but said the strength of the players and the program were mostly responsible for the team not missing a beat.
“I was swimming, just trying to keep my head above water with the new assignment as the head football coach,” Scalley said of the past few days. “So I’m just so grateful to (the players), to (the administration) and grateful to Kyle Whittingham, my mentor.
“What he’s done for this program and for me personally, I can’t thank him enough.”
While it was Dampier and the offense that came alive, Scalley’s defense also put together six consecutive possessions on which it did not surrender a first down after allowing two long touchdown drives early.
Scalley also left his offense on the field to pick up two fourth-down conversions that led to points.
Despite all the moving pieces of what could have been a chaotic transition, the Utes didn’t miss a beat under their new coach.
They figure to be in good hands moving forward.
2. Not convincing
There was some hope around the Cornhuskers that freshman quarterback TJ Lateef would have the kind of bowl game that would not only provide optimism for 2026 but leave no doubt he was ready to take over as the face of the program.
They didn’t get that Wednesday.
Lateef, who was making his fourth start since sophomore Dylan Raiola sustained a broken leg, finished 15-for-28 for 182 yards and a touchdown with an interception.
“I think there were a couple times he maybe left the pocket a little too early,” Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said. “Another time, we had a fourth down open, and they batted it down.
“I thought he protected it well except for that pick. I don’t know if it was too much (either good or bad) without watching the film.”
Raiola will enter the transfer portal, so Lateef should have a big opportunity going forward.
He showed flashes of what made him a Trinity League star at Orange Lutheran (California), just like he had against UCLA last month.
But there were also more bad throws and poor decisions like those that showed up in the Penn State and Iowa losses.
3. Turning maize and blue
Even though it was a sea of red at Allegiant Stadium with fans of both schools decked out in their preferred colors, it was tough not to envision what Utah’s creative offense might look like in maize and blue jerseys next season.
Offensive coordinator Jason Beck appears set to follow Whittingham to Michigan to take the same job on his staff in Ann Arbor.
Wolverines fans who might have been splitting their attention between their team’s game against Texas and the Utah game Wednesday to take a glimpse into the future were treated to a unit that put up 300 total yards in the first half against Nebraska, another Big Ten opponent.
The move would continue a rapid ascent for the 45-year-old former BYU quarterback.
He was the quarterbacks coach at Syracuse in 2022 and took over as the school’s offensive coordinator the next season.
Beck moved to New Mexico in 2024 where he oversaw a dynamic offense and helped foster the breakout campaign of Dampier, who came with Beck when he took over as the offensive coordinator for the Utes this season.
Michigan fans hope Beck can be the same kind of mentor for freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood, though Dampier also has eligibility remaining with the transfer portal window opening Friday.
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.
