Well, I’m sure this isn’t what Nebraska Cornhusker fans expected after Matt Rhule and the Huskers jumped out to a 14-7 lead in the first quarter. I’m certain that the Huskers felt great early on and thought that they’d find a way to go out and secure a really impressive win over a Big 12 program that secured double digit victories this season.
After the Huskers jumped out to that 14-7 lead, Utah then turned around and outscored Nebraska 37 to 8 down the stretch of this game. Those 37 points from Utah in the second, third, and fourth quarters? Those were all 37 unanswered.
Nebraska simply couldn’t keep up with the Utes in this game. Part of that might have to do with Dylan Raiola being out and then leaving Nebraska for the transfer portal, but part of that absolutely has to do with the fact that this Utah team was just really, really good. They won 11 games. The two teams they lost to this season competed in the Big 12 title game.
Utah Utes get the Big 12 another bowl win by steamrolling Matt Rhule and the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the 2025 Las Vegas Bowl
I mean, it was such a lopsided affair in the 2025 Las Vegas Bowl. Utah had just shy of 200 more total yards of offense, outgaining the Nebraska offense 535 yards to 343 yards. That’s not going to look great for Dana Holgorsen, who has been a longtime Big 12 coach and is also the offensive coordinator for the Huskers this season.
But in Holgorsen’s defense, he was without his starting quarterback and also went up against a really impressive Utah defense. Very few teams have had any sort of success against the Utes this year.
Utah quarterback Devon Dampier looked remarkable in this win and he pretty much was the entirety of Utah's offense here. Dampier completed 19-of-31 passing for 310 yards and two touchdowns while running for 148 yards and three more scores on 19 carries.
It’ll be interesting to see what the Utes look like next season given the way that Whittingham left and their recent infusion of private equity cash. Will they continue to be a threat to the top teams in the Big 12 going forward? Or will things fall apart in a weird and messy way?