Cameron Rising threw four touchdowns as No. 14 Utah cruised to a 35-7 win over visiting San Diego State on Saturday night in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Rising completed 18 of 30 passes for 224 yards while Tavion Thomas added 59 yards and a touchdown on the ground for Utah (2-1).
In what was a brutal night offensively for the Aztecs (1-2), quarterbacks Braxton Burmeister, Kyle Crum and Will Haskell combined for just 60 yards and one touchdown through the air on 7-for-21 passing.
Jaylon Armstead chipped in 31 yards on five carries, and Joshua Nicholson hauled in two catches for 23 yards and the Aztecs’ lone touchdown.
San Diego State struggled to muster enough momentum to break into enemy territory, as its first nine drives came up short of the 50. It wasn’t until the fourth quarter that the Aztecs had a real scoring opportunity, driving 49 yards in eight plays to the Utes 26.
However, SDSU couldn’t convert a fourth-and-5, suffocating its chance at points.
But the Aztecs wouldn’t be shut out for much longer, as Krum threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Nicholson with 3:56 left to play to make it 35-7.
Two drives after Rising’s pass to Micah Bernard on fourth-and-3 was incomplete, Utah was finally able to break the scoreless tie with 8:59 left in the second quarter.
Rising redeemed himself, throwing for 75 of the 77 yards on the Utes’ seven-play drive that was capped off by Brant Kuithe’s 30-yard touchdown reception.
That score opened up the floodgates, as Rising went on to throw two more touchdowns before half’s end. He connected with Solomon Enis for a 13-yard score before finding Devaughn Vele from 15 yards out to send Utah into the break with a 21-0 lead.
San Diego State managed just 43 yards of total offense through the first 30 minutes of action.
The Utes found the end zone twice in the third. Thomas had an 18-yard rushing score and Rising connected with Vele once again to make it 35-0.
–Field Level Media
