Utah Utes football: Offense hits on all cylinders in blowout win over Rams

Louks led eight rushers in positive yardage with 109 on just five carries.

"The offensive line made big lanes for me to run through all day," he said. "The wide receivers did a great job blocking on the perimeter. That just came together and the running game was effective the entire day."

Utah wound up with 327 yards on the ground and 222 in the air. Brooks led six Utes with catches by hauling in six.

Linebacker Stevenson Sylvester topped the defense with nine tackles, and 25 others made at least one stop. Aiona Key highlighted the special teams units by blocking a punt for the second consecutive game.

"We have a lot of playmakers. There are only so many touches for the offense and we have a lot of team guys here," Whittingham said.

"Everyone contributed and helped out."

Neither team punted in the opening quarter. CSU did, however, kick it away on the first play of the second. Utah's defense forced the Rams into a fourth-and-16 predicament after making three consecutive tackles-for-loss. Kruger and Joe Dale made the first two, while Koa Misi and Sylvester combined on the third stop.

"We couldn't wait to get back on the field," Kruger said after the Utes gave up a score on CSU's first drive. "Coach (Gary) Andersen got us ready and made adjustments that really helped a lot. We knew we were a better defensive unit than that. We were excited to go out and prove it."

Utah led 14-7 at the time and remained on top for the remainder of the game.

The Utes scored on their first two possessions, with Johnson completing 8-of-9 passes for 71 yards. They converted on all three third-down situations they faced along the way.

A 32-yard scoring strike from Johnson to Freddie Brown capped the initial series. The second score — on a 3-yard touchdown run by Asiata off a direct snap — concluded a sustained drive that consisted of 12 plays and took 5:07 off the clock.

Between Utah scores, CSU got on the board with a 29-yard touchdown pass from Farris to Dion Morton. The Rams marched 80 yards on 10 plays to even things up at 7-7.

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