Devon Dampier's 70-Yard Strike to Creed Whittemore Lifts No. 2 Utah Past No. 22 Arizona 40-39

Arizona had the lead, the crowd and 2 minutes and 35 seconds of a historic upset in its hands. It took Utah two plays to take all of it back. Devon Dampier found Creed Whittemore behind the Arizona secondary for a 70-yard touchdown with 2:35 left, and No. 2 Utah survived No. 22 Arizona 40-39 late Saturday night at Casino Del Sol Stadium in Tucson.

The win kept Utah perfect at 10-0 and 7-0 in the Big 12. It also came on a night that started late for everyone. Kickoff was pushed back three hours to 8:30 p.m. local time (10:30 p.m. ET) after the nationwide FAA ground stop scrambled team travel across the country, a change both Arizona (opens in a new tab) and Utah (opens in a new tab) announced Friday night. The game that followed, broadcast on FOX, did not end until well after midnight on the East Coast, and it was worth the wait.

A slow start, then Dampier takes over

Arizona owned the first quarter. Quincy Craig punched in a 1-yard touchdown at 9:45 for a 7-0 lead, and Utah did not score in the opening 15 minutes. Dillon Curtis got the Utes on the board with a 53-yard field goal on the first play of the second quarter, but Kedrick Reescano answered with a 5-yard touchdown run at 9:48 to make it 14-3.

That is when Dampier, a finalist for the Paul Hornung Award, started to run. Dampier scored from 14 yards out at 6:27 to cut the gap to four, then capped a drive that featured a 35-yard completion to Ricky Johnson with an 18-yard touchdown run at 1:34. Utah led 17-14, and its defense closed the half by picking off Noah Fifita on a fourth-and-11 throw on Arizona's final drive.

A third quarter that swung four times

The second half opened with a gift for Arizona. Dampier fumbled on Utah's first snap, and Mays Pese recovered at the Utah 18. Arizona cashed in quickly when Fifita hit Isaiah Mizell for a 6-yard touchdown, putting the Wildcats back in front 21-17 at 11:53.

Utah needed less than two minutes to flip it. Daniel Bray broke loose for a 62-yard run, and Dampier finished the drive with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Byrd Ficklin at 10:07 for a 24-21 lead. The Utes drove right back into scoring range, but Jay'Vion Cole intercepted Dampier at the Arizona 1, a call that was upheld on review.

Arizona turned that stop into the longest drive of the night. Backed up at its own 1, the Wildcats went 99 yards in five plays, with Fifita hitting Chris Hunter III for 67 yards and then finding Giovanni Richardson for a 19-yard touchdown at 3:22. Arizona carried a 28-24 lead into the fourth quarter.

The fourth quarter: punches and counterpunches

Utah reached first-and-goal at the 10 to open the final period but settled for a 39-yard Curtis field goal at 14:10, trimming the deficit to 28-27. The Utes' defense then forced the issue. Elijah Elliss sacked Fifita for a 20-yard loss, and on the ensuing punt a kick-catch interference penalty on Arizona's Drew Nicolson handed Utah the ball at the Arizona 37. Bray took it in from 8 yards at 11:46. The two-point pass failed, leaving Utah up 33-28.

Nicolson then made up for the penalty. Mana Carvalho muffed an Arizona punt, and Nicolson recovered at the Utah 17. Cyrus Polu sacked Fifita to push the Wildcats back, but Michael Salgado-Medina, whose late kick had beaten TCU a week earlier, drilled a 47-yard field goal at 8:09 to make it 33-31.

Arizona's next possession looked like the winner. Fifita connected with Mizell for 59 yards, then went right back to Mizell for a 10-yard touchdown at 3:13, Mizell's second scoring catch of the night. Fifita kept it on the two-point try and got in, and Arizona led 39-33.

The turning point: 38 seconds, two plays, 75 yards

Utah's answer was immediate. Starting at its own 25, the Utes needed only two snaps and 38 seconds. On the second, Dampier lofted a deep ball to Whittemore, who ran under it for a 70-yard touchdown at 2:35. Curtis added the extra point, and the point after was the difference.

Arizona still had time. But Polu broke up a pass on the next series, and on fourth-and-2 from the Arizona 33, Fifita's throw for Richardson was knocked away. Utah took over on downs at 1:56 and ran out the clock.

Standouts and the numbers that mattered

Dampier did a little of everything. Dampier completed 13 of 25 passes for 204 yards with two touchdowns and an interception, and ran 14 times for 100 yards and two more scores. Bray was the best player on the field on the ground, piling up 197 yards on 18 carries with a touchdown. Whittemore caught five passes for 92 yards, and most of it came on the play that won the game.

Utah ran for 296 yards on 35 carries, an average of 8.5 a rush, and outgained Arizona 500 to 415. Arizona, by contrast, managed just 59 rushing yards on 31 attempts, a total dragged down by four Utah sacks. Polu had two of them, and safety Rabbit Evans led the Utes with seven tackles.

Fifita was terrific in defeat, completing 27 of 43 passes for 356 yards with three touchdowns and one interception while the Arizona receivers made plays all night. Mizell caught seven passes for 115 yards and two touchdowns, Hunter had six catches for 119 yards, and Richardson added seven for 94 and a score. Linebacker Chase Kennedy made nine tackles, Everett Roussaw Jr. had a sack and Hannibal Navies II forced a fumble.

The stat sheet also shows how Arizona stayed close. Utah turned the ball over three times, two lost fumbles and an interception, while Arizona committed one turnover. The Wildcats held the ball for 33:54 to Utah's 26:06 and converted 7 of 16 third downs. In the end, Utah's big plays outweighed all of it. The Utes scored on runs or catches of 70 and 18 yards, set up another touchdown with Bray's 62-yard burst and got a 53-yard field goal from Curtis.

What it means

For Utah, this was the latest in a run of hard-earned wins after beating No. 9 BYU 28-20 last week and routing Cincinnati 49-25 the week before. It was also the closest call yet for a team that entered the night at No. 2 in the AP poll and near the top of the College Football Playoff rankings. At 7-0, Utah remains the only Big 12 team without a conference loss, a game clear of Texas Tech at 6-1. The Utes play at TCU on Nov. 21, host West Virginia on Nov. 27 and have their sights set on the Big 12 Championship Game on Dec. 4.

For Arizona, the loss drops the Wildcats to 7-3 and 4-3 in league play. They had come in on a high after edging TCU 29-28, a week after falling 34-26 at Texas Tech. Arizona visits Kansas State on Nov. 21 and closes the regular season against Arizona State in the Territorial Cup on Nov. 28.

Closing take

Utah has won plenty of ways this season, but rarely like this. Its defense gave up 415 yards and 39 points, Dampier gave away two possessions, and it trailed with less than three minutes to play on the road. The Utes still found the one throw they needed, and that is often what separates an unbeaten team from everyone else in November. Arizona, meanwhile, showed it can stand toe to toe with anyone in the Big 12. The Wildcats just ran out of answers 38 seconds too soon.

The full box score is on ESPN (opens in a new tab), and Utah's game week preview is on the Utah Athletics site (opens in a new tab).

Sources: ESPN, Utah Athletics, Arizona Athletics.

Photo: Rebecca Sasnett/Arizona Athletics (file photo from Oct. 3, 2026, vs. Cincinnati).