The last time Utah QB Devon Dampier faced Wyoming, he set conference and school records

Saturday will have been nearly 11 months removed from Dampier's historic performance against the Cowboys, in which he rushed for 207 yards and three touchdowns, setting a new Mountain West Conference record and a new school benchmark for the most rushing yards by a quarterback in a single game.

"They've got a quarterback in Devon Dampier [whom] I don't think we've stopped ever," Sawvel said of the Utes during his weekly press conference. "So we've got to try to figure out a way to do that."

Wyoming wound up hanging on for a 49-45 win over Dampier's New Mexico squad that night after a strip-sack on the Lobos quarterback with just under 2 minutes to play allowed the Cowboys to run out the clock. Dampier also threw a costly pick-six to give Wyoming life late in the second half, and completed just 16 of his 31 pass attempts (51.6% completion rate) for 164 yards and a touchdown through the air.

Roughly a year later, and with the same offensive coordinator guiding him through the playbook, Dampier is set to return to War Memorial Stadium as one of the most efficient passers in the Football Bowl Subdivision. His 79.2% completion rate through the Utes' first two games of the season ranks only behind Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin (79.5%), and Dampier's yet to throw an interception after attempting a combined 48 pass attempts against UCLA and Cal Poly.

"He's proficient within what they do offensively," Sawvel said of Dampier. "He's in a scheme now that fits him even better than it did two years ago. They do so many good things in the run game and so many different things utilizing personnel."

Dampier had scoring runs of 18, 40 and 85 yards and accounted for just over half of his squad's 413 rushing yards the last time he saw the Cowboys, with running back Eli Sanders making up for the other half with 205 rushing yards on 17 carries. It was the first time a pair of New Mexico players each rushed for more than 200 yards in a single game.

According to New Mexico's recap of that Nov. 2 game at Wyoming, Dampier's 207 rushing yards were the 14th-most in school history and the most by a Lobos quarterback. He also became the first player in program history to have three separate 100-yard rushing and passing games in the same season, and his 85-yard scamper was the longest by a New Mexico signal-caller.

In his return to Laramie, Wyoming, Dampier will lead another highly potent rushing attack that's spearheaded by an offensive line that features two potential first-round draft picks at both tackle spots, plus a trio of experienced players on the interior to create lanes for their dual-threat quarterback and combination of running backs. Utah's offense ranks No. 8 in the NCAA and second in the Big 12 with 279.5 rushing yards per game.

"When you play against a quarterback like this, it's hard enough to put yourself always in the right spot to where you feel like, 'OK, we've got this play stopped,'" Sawvel said. "It's the unscripted things that he can do that all of a sudden, just break a play down, or break a defense down, and can keep a drive going, and everything that way. And that's the stuff there that he is so, so good at, but he's improved in every way from a couple years ago, and he obviously now has got far more weapons and a far better offensive line than what he has ever had."

Sawvel's certainly not the only one in college football who's been captivated by Dampier's play through his first few games with the Utes; sportsbooks have amped up his Heisman Trophy odds from where they stood in the preseason, while former recipients of the sport's most prestigious award have praised and compared Dampier to other accomplished players at his position.

"Devon Dampier's a great player," Sawvel said. "And we have tremendous respect for not only what he does as a player, but also all the players that are playing around him right now and how they're coached."

Dampier's coach, Kyle Whittingham, has also commended his starting quarterback, particularly for the improvements he's made as a passer, though he still believes there's more to Utah's passing game that's yet to be unlocked.

"I think it's something that needs to continue to improve," Whittingham said. "I think it's off to a pretty good start, but not real explosive, I guess is the proper word; we haven't had a lot of explosive plays in the throw game."

After showcasing how impactful he can be with his legs, perhaps Dampier will show off the arm a little bit more on Saturday as the Utes look to move to 3-0 on the season.