Utah Utes football: Game by game

UTAH 25, MICHIGAN 23: The Utes opened the season with a victory in the Big House before a capacity crowd of 108,421. Brian Johnson passed for 305 yards and a touchdown, while Louie Sakoda made four field goals and averaged 47 yards on six punts. Paul Kruger had nine tackles to lead a defense that held the Wolverines to just 36 yards rushing.

UTAH 42, UNLV 21: After playing to a 14-14 draw in the first half, the Utes pulled away with 35 straight points to prevail in their home opener. The victory avenged a 27-0 setback to the Rebels a year earlier. Utah's defense tightened up considerably in the second half and gave up only nine yards on the ground.

UTAH 58, UTAH STATE 10: After giving up an early score following a fumbled punt, the Utes overpowered the Aggies at Romney Stadium in Logan. They wound up scoring the most points by any team in the long-running rivalry. Paul Kruger had a career-high four sacks in the lopsided affair. Utah's offense won the total yardage battle by a 461-116 margin.

UTAH 30, AIR FORCE 23: It took some late-game heroics, but the visiting Utes found a way to get past the Falcons. Darrell Mack scored the game-winning touchdown with just 58 seconds remaining, and Joe Dale sealed the deal with an interception on the Falcons' ensuing possession. Mack topped 100 yards rushing and scored three times.

UTAH 37, WEBER STATE 21: Ron McBride's return to Rice-Eccles Stadium didn't distract the Utes. They pulled away from the Wildcats with a strong second quarter. Johnson completed 12-of-13 passes for 123 yards and two touchdowns during the decisive span. The defense did its part by holding Weber State to minus-11 yards rushing in the quarter.

UTAH 31, OREGON STATE 28: Trailing 28-20 with less than 1 1/2 minutes to play, the Utes rallied to victory behind the play of Johnson. After leading a successful two-minute drill for a score, he ran in for the game-tying two-point conversion. A defensive stop followed before Sakoda's 37-yard field goal finished things off as time expired. Mike Wright led the defense with 15 tackles.

UTAH 40, WYOMING 7: On a cold, windy day in Laramie, the Utes scored touchdowns by five different means — off an interception, a run, a pass, a blocked punt and a fumble recovery. Sean Smith's 25-yard interception return for a score got things started less than four minutes into the game. Utah built a 33-0 advantage before Wyoming's lone score.