Utah Utes football: Special teams, defense shine

LARAMIE, Wyo. — Utah quarterback Brian Johnson got right to the point after Saturday's 40-7 victory over Wyoming.

"We got a score off of offense, defense and special teams," he said. "You do that and you'll win a lot of football games."

It certainly made a difference Saturday in blustery conditions at War Memorial Stadium.

The Utes overpowered the Cowboys in a variety of ways, starting with Sean Smith's 25-yard interception return for a touchdown less than four minutes into the game.

Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said the play "set the tone" for the rest of the game.

The Utes wound up forcing five turnovers by game's end — intercepting three passes and recovering a pair of fumbles.

"Overall a positive day," Whittingham said. "I thought the defense played well."

Wyoming converted on only 2-of-13 third-down situations and went 0-for-2 on fourth down. Joe Dale and Greg Newman led Utah with seven tackles apiece. The Utes wound up making seven tackles-for-loss and held the Cowboys scoreless until the fourth quarter was almost halfway over.

Smith highlighted the effort with two interceptions. Newman had the other. Robert Johnson recovered a fumble, off a force by Dale.

Special teams also got into the act with major contributions, including two touchdowns. The first came in the second quarter when Aiona Key blocked a punt and returned the ball 6 yards for a touchdown. The latter came late in the game when R.J. Rice pounced on a muffed punt return by Wyoming in the end zone.

Kicker Louie Sakoda did his part with a pair of field goals and four extra points.

"Special teams were big today," Key said. "They're big in every game."

Utah's offense had two touchdown drives. The initial sequence consisted of 15 plays and took 6:09 off the clock late in the first half, culminating with a 3-yard scoring run by Matt Asiata. In the third quarter, Asiata caught a 13-yard touchdown pass from Brian Johnson.

The offense, hindered by the windy weather, wound up 242 yards.

Johnson completed 10-of-19 passes for 110 yards. Backup Corbin Louks led the ground game with 50 yards on nine carries.