10 moments that defined Utah’s 2025 season

Utah football’s 2025 season was bookended by major decisions by Kyle Whittingham.

Whittingham’s choice to return for his 21st season was the initial domino that set the year in the motion, and his announcement that he was stepping down at the end of the 2025 season signaled the end of an era at Utah.

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In between those two big moments, the Utes compiled 10 regular-season wins for the first time since 2019 and reignited an offense that struggled in 2024. In the end, Utah came up just short of a Big 12 championship game appearance by losing its two biggest games on the schedule — to Texas Tech and BYU.

Here’s a look at the 10 moments that defined Utah’s 2025 season.

Kyle Whittingham returns for 21st season

After retirement rumors swirled leading up to Utah’s season finale at UCF in 2024, Whittingham announced his return for his 21st — and what would end up being his final — season at Utah.

After a 5-7 campaign filled with its share of adversity in 2024, Whittingham ultimately decided that he could not end his Utah career on that note and vowed to “right the ship” in 2025.

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“I couldn’t stomach going out on that, with that season, as frustrating as it was, and as discouraging as it was,” Whittingham said at Big 12 media days this July.

“It just didn’t sit well with anybody, but most of all me and so I thought, ‘Hey, that’s not going to be the final act of my deal. I got to come back and try to get the ship right and get back on track.”

Shortly after announcing his return, Whittingham went to work to try and correct Utah’s offense, starting with hiring a new offensive coordinator.

Jason Beck, Devon Dampier and more revamp Utah’s offense

After scoring just 23.6 points per game (No. 102 in the nation) and totaling just 329.8 yards per game on offense (No. 115 in the nation) with a backup-quarterback-led offense for the majority of the season, Whittingham knew Utah’s offense needed a major revamp.

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Longtime offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig resigned midseason in 2024, giving Utah the opportunity to bring in a new voice.

After a search, Whittingham settled on Jason Beck, who had transformed New Mexico’s offense into one that scored 33.5 points per game and ranked No. 4 nationally in total offense with 484.2 yards per game in 2024.

Beck’s RPO-heavy scheme is easier for players to pick up than Ludwig’s pro-style scheme — a factor Whittingham weighed when selecting Beck.

Beck brought along quarterback Devon Dampier, who threw for 2,768 yards and rushed for 1,166 in 2024, and receiver Ryan Davis, who had 747 yards on 54 receptions.

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The three former Lobos would be the foundation for an offensive revival in Salt Lake City.

Those moves paid off for the Utes, who completed a stunning offensive turnaround, going from one of the worst offenses in the nation to one of the best.

Utah scored 40.9 points per game (No. 5 in the nation) and rushed for 269.8 yards per game (No. 2 in the nation).

Dampier, Davis, Byrd Ficklin and Wayshawn Parker, along with Utah’s offensive line, all played a part in making the Utes’ offense something fans could enjoy watching again.

New-look offense dazzles in season-opening win at UCLA

Utah quickly answered questions about how Beck’s offense would fare at Utah and if Dampier would excel at the Power Four Level in a 43-10 win at UCLA.

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Preseason, Dampier declared, “this is another year, where Utah is going to be able to score the ball as well.”

Boy, did they.

Dampier threw for 206 yards and two touchdowns on 84% accuracy and rushed for 87 yards and a score, while the Utes’ heralded offensive line powered Utah to 286 rushing yards.

Utah’s uptempo offense was a breath of fresh air, but the Utes proved they could be successful when slowing the ball down, too, as evidenced by a 20-play, 80-yard drive that took nearly 10 minutes off the clock.

It was the first proof of concept that Beck’s offense would work at Utah.

“The flow of the game, the calls had them off balance,” Whittingham said. “I thought the run-pass ratio was outstanding, the RPO facet that he brought and implemented. He’s just a masterful play caller, at least he has been and he was tonight.”

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Utah’s defense held the Bruins to only 220 yards of offense and rattled UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava all night.

Utah’s 2025 debut couldn’t have gone much better.

Utes fail first big test of the year

After starting the season 3-0 with wins over UCLA, Cal Poly and Wyoming, No. 16 Utah faced its first test of the season against No. 17 Texas Tech.

It was also the first challenge for the Red Raiders, who had revamped their offensive and defensive lines with a big NIL push from oil billionaire Cody Campbell.

The investment in the trenches paid off as Texas Tech defeated Utah 34-10 at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

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Utah’s potent ground game was held to just 101 yards and Dampier, nursing an ankle injury, was largely ineffective, throwing two interceptions.

Texas Tech backup quarterback Will Hammond, inserted into the game after Behren Morton was ruled out, threw for 169 yards and two touchdowns. Texas Tech rushed for 311 yards, dominating the Utes along the line of scrimmage.

“For us to lose the line of scrimmage, it doesn’t happen very often, but it certainly happened today,” Whittingham said.

The loss to the Red Raiders — and later, BYU — would be the reason the 10-2 Utes wouldn’t make it to the Big 12 championship game.

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A third-straight rivalry loss

After reeling off two consecutive blowout wins, including a 42-10 win over a Sam Leavitt-less ASU team, Utah made the short drive down to Provo for one of the highest-stakes rivalry games yet.

As it would turn out, it was essentially a play-in game for the Big 12 championship.

BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier threw for 166 yards and a score and rushed for 64 yards and a touchdown, which was the dagger, and LJ Martin rushed for 122 yards as the Cougars won 24-21.

The Utes lost the turnover battle 2-0, including a muffed punt that was especially costly.

All the talk among Utah fans after the game was about three failed fourth-down conversions. The Utes went for it on fourth-and-1 from the BYU 12-yard line in the first quarter, fourth-and-7 from the BYU 28-yard line in the second quarter, and fourth-and-3 from the BYU 8-yard line in the third quarter, coming up short each time.

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Whittingham defended each of those decisions, citing analytics.

“First of all, if you think you’re smarter than analytics, you’re not. Anybody out there, if you think you got a better grasp of the game and strategy than the analytics do, you don’t,” Whittingham said.

While there were certainly many factors in Utah’s loss, the fourth-down decisions were the most hotly debated after the game.

Utah’s third-straight loss to rival BYU ended up shutting the Utes out of the Big 12 championship game, making the defeat sting even more.

The emergence of Byrd Ficklin

As Utah learned in the 2023 and 2024 seasons, backup quarterbacks are anything but a sure thing in college football.

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Isaac Wilson was named the team’s backup quarterback ahead of the season, but freshman Byrd Ficklin rose to become Utah’s QB2 in-season.

After getting extended run in Utah blowout victories, Ficklin’s first chance to start came against Colorado, when he filled in for an ailing Dampier.

In the Utes’ 53-7 win over the Buffaloes, Ficklin threw for 140 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 151 yards and a score, providing Ute fans a taste of the future.

He was integral to two other Utah wins, rushing for touchdowns of 67 and 74 yards against Baylor and finding the end zone three times in Utah’s comeback win vs. Kansas State.

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“His composure and he’s just unflappable. Nothing bothers him and he is an intelligent young man, extremely intelligent. He’s got pretty much the whole offense at his disposal and that’s saying a lot for a true freshman,” Whittingham said in late October.

“He’s so athletic, that’s another thing. It’s something that makes him so difficult to defend. So much upside as a quarterback. He’s fast, he’s quick, he can make people miss, he’s tough. He can take hits and he’s got a really good arm.”

Ficklin re-signed with the Utes in December, and with Dampier set to come back as well, Utah’s quarterback situation is in a good place entering the Scalley era.

John Henry Daley’s breakout season

After transferring from BYU to Utah ahead of the 2024 season, Daley had to bide his time, but when he earned his chance to be a starter in 2025, he made the most of it.

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Daley registered 11.5 sacks over 11 games — leading the nation in sacks per game — before suffering a season-ending injury.

In all, Daley had 48 tackles, 11.5 sacks, 17.5 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles in a phenomenal redshirt sophomore season. He was named a first-team All-American by Walter Camp and appeared on the All-Big 12 first team.

Daley’s breakout season helped the Utes’ defense finish tied for No. 17 in points allowed per game and brought back the “Sack Lake City” moniker.

“How haven’t we seen him improve? He’s improved in every aspect of his game. He’s stronger. He’s a technician. I mean, he’s worked on his fundamentals and his techniques extremely hard,” Whittingham said in September. “He’s got really good pass-rush skills as evidenced by, I think he’s still leading the nation in sacks. He’s a guy that has really, really polished up his game over the last year and really made himself into an exceptional player.”

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A comeback for the ages against Kansas State

No one could have possibly predicted how Utah’s 51-47 win over Kansas State played out.

The Utes entered the game allowing 143.2 rushing yards per game — middle of the pack in the Big 12, but still respectable.

Kansas State rushed for 472 yards in one of the most unbelievable performances against a Scalley-coached defense. Utah simply had no answers for the Wildcats, who rushed for five touchdowns and had seven runs of 30-plus yards.

“It was a power run game, just a basic power play and it was an ‘A gap’ power play where they started strong side and cut it back and we continually didn’t defend it the right way,” Whittingham said.

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When Joe Jackson scored his third rushing touchdown of the night to put Kansas State up 12 with seven minutes left, it looked like the Utes were going to be dealt their third loss of the season.

Instead, Utah pulled off one of the most improbable comebacks in school history.

It all started with a Tao Johnson interception return for a touchdown on the Wildcats’ two-point conversion, cutting the deficit to 10 points.

Dampier found Larry Simmons for a 20-yard touchdown on the ensuing Utah drive to bring the Utes within three points, then Utah’s defense got off the field early with a three-and-out to give Dampier the ball back with a chance to win.

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Facing fourth and 1 on that drive, Dampier kept the ball himself and ran 59 yards to get the Utes into the red zone. Dampier ran the ball in for the touchdown to give Utah the lead and cap off a comeback for the ages.

“That last score, it was surreal,” Whittingham said. “It was just a moment that, like I said, you can’t even dream it up.”

Spencer Fano wins Outland Trophy

Entering the season, Whittingham was not short on praise for his offensive line.

“I can say with confidence, we should be the best offensive line since I’ve been at the University of Utah, which has been forever,” Whittingham said at this year’s Big 12 media days.

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Anchored by tackles Spencer Fano and Caleb Lomu, both of whom declared for the 206 NFL draft, and bolstered by seniors Jaren Kump, Tanoa Togiai and Michael Mokofisi, Utah’s offensive line lived up to the hype.

Dampier was sacked just eight times all season and the veteran offensive line powered the Utes to 3,237 rushing yards, just 27 yards short of breaking the school rushing record of 3,263, set in 1984. Since bowl games count toward school records, Utah will set the new school record for rushing yards in a season in the Las Vegas Bowl vs. Nebraska.

Dampier, Parker, Ficklin, NaQuari Rogers and Daniel Bray were all helped by Utah’s dominant offensive line. The standout player from the O-line was Fano, who allowed only five pressures and zero sacks.

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Fano became Utah’s first-ever unanimous offensive first-team All-American and he became the first Ute to win the Outland Trophy, awarded to the nation’s top interior lineman.

Fano is expected to be a high selection in next year’s NFL draft, and his play all season helped the Utes’ offense complete a major turnaround.

Kyle Whittingham steps down, takes Michigan job

Certainly the biggest moment in a season full of them was the news that Whittingham was stepping down as Utah’s coach after a 21-year run at the helm of the team.

After over two decades of Whittingham leading the Utes, it will be Morgan Scalley at the helm when the Utes take on Nebraska in the Las Vegas Bowl.

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Whittingham built the Utes from a Mountain West program into one that won two Pac-12 titles. Even in his final season at Utah, the 66-year-old guided the Utes to a 10-win regular season — something that last happened in 2019.

Even as he was still turning in winning seasons, he felt now was the time to step down.

“Well, the program’s in a good place right now,” he said. “As I’ve said many times after last season, it just didn’t sit right with anybody, particularly me, and so came back and fortunately we were able to get the ship righted and everything’s on track.

“Program, like I said, is in a good spot. Got good coaches, coach (Morgan) Scalley will come in and do a great job, got good players, so now is the time.”

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Almost immediately after Whittingham stepped down, reports surfaced that the longtime Utah coach could pursue other coaching opportunities.

Whittingham, who still had a desire to coach, kept his options open.

Asked on Dec. 18 what the process of deciding whether to pursue other opportunities or move into his special assistant role at Utah looked like, Whittingham replied, “If my phone rings, I answer it, I like who’s calling? Then we’ll see. Yeah, that’s pretty much the process.”

Michigan called, Whittingham answered, and two weeks after stepping down, Whittingham was named the new head coach at Michigan, saying he still had “a lot left in the tank.”

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“After 21 years at Utah, I stepped down a couple weeks ago,” he said. “Wasn’t sure if I was finished (coaching) or not. I knew there was a lot left in the tank. You could count on one hand the number of schools that I would be receptive to. Michigan was one of those schools. Definitely a top-5 job in the country, without a doubt. When the ball started rolling and the more I learned about Michigan, the more excited I got. I am elated to be here.”