Morgan Scalley gets his first victory as the Utes’ head coach. Now comes the fight to keep his team together.
(John Locher | AP) Utah quarterback Devon Dampier (4) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against Nebraska during the first half of the Las Vegas Bowl, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, in Las Vegas.
Bruce Springsteen was the one who famously sang it: “With every wish comes a curse.”
Well. The Utah Utes made their wish come true on Wednesday at the SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl, not just dominating Nebraska, but making the Cornhuskers look silly. The curse, in whatever form it takes, is bound to come in the days ahead. More on that in a minute.
With a swirling cloud of dust leading up to his ascent and little time for Morgan Scalley to fully take charge, nobody was really sure whether it would be totally fair in the aftermath to say the man actually started his Utah head coaching career here.
As it turned out, the longtime Ute assistant would more than happily take any and all judgments — and run and pass and put up a wall of violent defense with them.
The beginning’s end result? A 44-22 victory over Nebraska.
Quarterback Devon Dampier said it like this in the postgame: “A big shoutout to Coach Scalley. We were ready to play our hearts out for him to get his first win.”
Their hearts were out.
Scalley’s quickly adapted version of the Utes looked a whole lot like — better even than — the other guy’s version, the guy who was in Orlando, watching at the same time his new Michigan team play in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl against Texas. That result certainly was less satisfying for Kyle Whittingham, who paced around in a box, witnessing that 41-27 Wolverine loss.
(John Locher | AP) Utah head coach Morgan Scalley celebrates with his team after defeating Nebraska in the Las Vegas Bowl, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, in Las Vegas.
If there was a hangover from the recent Whittingham exit, what with rumors and anxious chatter in the seats and around the country churning about offensive coordinator Jason Beck and other Utah coaches and players moving to Michigan, too, it wasn’t easy to detect all spilled out on the field at Allegiant Stadium.
Utah simply did what it does. It ran the football, rolling up 225 yards. It passed for 310 yards, and it stiffened the slush its defense had strangely transformed into over the last games of the regular season, and in the first quarter here, allowing the ‘Huskers just shy of 200 fewer total yards than the Utes ended up gaining. The second-half Utah resistance was nearly as impressive as the offense.
That’s all good news for the Utes. The bad news?
Ah, the curse.
We can argue over who had the better showing in this game — Dampier or his benefactor Beck. Both were extraordinary, Beck calling the plays and Dampier executing them. Dampier, in fact, outplayed Bryce Underwood, who was doing his thing some 2,300 miles away. If you don’t know who Underwood is and don’t understand the reasoning for and meaning to that comparison, never mind. You could find out soon enough.
Either way, Scalley said there’s a plan in place to fill the holes created by those Utes ready to jump ship, or thinking about it, to Ann Arbor, but most of them were still around on this occasion, much to Utah’s advantage. Already, stellar defensive end John Henry Daley had announced his entrance into the transfer portal, which is likely a vague way of saying he’ll be donning the maize-and-blue. Who else would follow him is yet to be seen, no one around here is eager to find out.
The fact that the Utes were able to hold it together under these circumstances in such a convincing manner to roll in Vegas is a compliment to Scalley, who immediately wrapped his arms around the program and all those in it, even as he was familiar enough with all things Utah to possess a large measure of suspicion as to whom would be staying and whom would be bolting.
Winning, perhaps, is the best way to say goodbye, and walk away — and, even for the leftovers, to say hello, and get reacquainted. And that’s precisely what this game was — an odd mishmash of salutations and farewells.
Perhaps that gave a bowl game that otherwise might have edged — even for Ute and Cornhusker fans — toward a belch, a scratch and a yawn more meaning.
(John Locher | AP) Utah tight end Dallen Bentley (88) catches a pass during the first half of the Las Vegas Bowl against Nebraska, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, in Las Vegas.
As mentioned, Dampier was spectacular. The junior ran for 148 yards and three touchdowns, and passed for those 310 yards and two more scores, playing in the same way that initially had more than tempted Whittingham to want to stick around at Utah for at least as long as the quarterback was available to him. Dampier, a remarkably enthusiastic leader, had that effect through thick and thin on all the Utes during the 2025 season. He’s waffled a bit at times, though, about his future plans.
Scalley, with the playcalling of Beck, certainly benefited from such leadership. Targets such as tight ends JJ Buchanan and Dallen Bentley, who combined for 10 catches and 182 receiving yards and 2 TDs, were standouts, along with the big’uns up front.
More cheerful thoughts for Utah football circle around the idea — evidence bubbling up in this game — that the coaching transition might not have as many harsh ramifications as such transitions have had at other programs. Everyone knows Scalley is a smart coach and an effective recruiter. With more financial backing moving forward, Utah might very well be in good hands. Even Scalley’s initial interviews as head coach came across as articulate and conscientious.
The months and years ahead will tell the story.
As for the looming curse, as for Michigan’s greedy eyes and lucre-filled hands behind it all … easy now, the opening chapter in Vegas had a wish and a hook that will keep the pages turning, even if some of them are torn away, keeping Ute spirits flying high, come what may.
