LAS VEGAS — Devon Dampier passed for 310 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 148 yards and three scores and No. 15 Utah State won the Las Vegas Bowl in Morgan Scalley’s first game as coach and beat Nebraska 44-22 on Wednesday in the Las Vegas Bowl.
Sculley was expected to start coaching the Utes after this game, but Michigan hired Kyle Whittingham on Friday, prompting a quicker change.
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The question now for Dampier is whether the junior will return to Salt Lake City or enter the transfer portal, possibly even following his old coach to Michigan.
The game was considered an audition for Nebraska freshman quarterback TJ Lateef, who passed for 182 yards and a touchdown on every throw and run. Mekhi Nelson rushed for 88 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries, but had only 16 yards after the first quarter.
Utah State (11-2) has won 11 games for the fourth time in franchise history and first since 2019. Utah improved to 18-9 in bowl games, including 5-2 in the Las Vegas Bowl. They also won two Pac-12 championships at Allegiant Stadium.
Utah outgained 343 yards to 535 yards against Nebraska (7-6). They rushed for 225 yards and set a Utah school record 3,462 yards this season. Their four rushing touchdowns gave the Utes 41 rushing touchdowns on the season, another program record.
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Utah turned the tide in the second quarter, outscoring Nebraska 17-0 and outscoring the Huskers 198-17. At the end of the first quarter, Nebraska led 14-7.
It was Nebraska’s 30th consecutive loss to an AP-ranked opponent, trailing only Rutgers’ 43-game skid. Coach Matt Rhule has lost 20 straight games to ranked teams, including an 0-11 loss to Baylor.
A reported 38,879 fans attended the game, the highest since the bowl moved to Allegiant Stadium after the 2019 season. The previous record was Wisconsin’s 20-13 victory over Arizona State in 2021 with 32,515 fans. It was the ninth-highest attendance for a bowl game ever played at Sam Boyd Stadium.
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Nebraska: The Huskers looked like they were going to run all over Utah, rushing 13 times for 94 yards in the first quarter to take a 14-7 lead. Utah rushed for one yard six times in the second quarter as they took control of the game.
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Utah State: Tight ends JJ Buchanan and Dallan Bentley combined to catch 10 passes for 182 yards and two touchdowns. For Buchanan, who is from the Las Vegas suburb of Henderson, the game was a homecoming.
Next
Nebraska: Will host Ohio State on Sept. 5, with the first of two games against a Mid-American Conference team and the third against an FCS school.
Utah State: Will host Idaho State on Sept. 3 in what should be an easy season adjustment.
