Utah Utes football notebook: Utes don't miss beat with backup QB

Utah vs. UNLV boxscore

SALT LAKE CITY — Terrance Cain took the message from the coaches to heart. Jordan Wynn's backup at quarterback was told to "be prepared, stay prepared."

With Wynn nursing a sprained thumb, Cain was called into duty in Saturday's 38-10 victory over UNLV — making his first start since last Halloween. The senior upped his record as Utah's starter to 8-1 by completing 13-of-20 passes for 207 yards and two touchdowns.

"It just felt great to be back out there again with my boys," Cain said.

The Utes got off to a slow start offensively but picked up the pace with scoring strikes from Cain late in the first half (a 20-yarder to Jereme Brooks) and early in the second (a 5-yarder to Shaky Smithson).

"We're blessed to have two great quarterbacks," Smithson said. "No matter which one is in, we believe that we can win and move the ball. So Terrance came in and proved that today."

Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said Wynn could have played in "an absolute emergency." That wasn't the case in the Utes' Mountain West Conference opener.

Whittingham has repeatedly expressed confidence in Cain, whom he believes has made great strides over the past year in terms of being more decisive and making better reads.

"The biggest thing I saw was that he was a lot more self-confident," Whittingham said. "He's had a great attitude since last season. He has displayed his character by putting the team before himself. It's a credit to him."

WYNN UPDATE: After the game, Wynn noted that he's still "day-to-day" with the sprained thumb on his throwing hand.

"It's getting better, but we'll see," Wynn said while noting that he knew on Friday that Cain would be the starter against UNLV.

STRAIGHT TALK: Whittingham wasn't very happy that the Utes had a punt blocked for the second consecutive week. It's the top priority to be fixed.

"Right now, that's our weakest link," he said before adding emphasis to the situation. "That's unacceptable."

DEFENDING THE RUN: Utah's defense held Pitt running back Dion Lewis to a career-low 75 yards last week and limited UNLV's C.J. Cox to only 31 yards on 16 carries.

The key?

"About eight 300-pound gorillas inside who are very good run-stoppers," Whittingham said of Utah's defensive line.