Utah football: Travis Wilson makes most of his debut for Utes

Utah fans wanting to catch a glimpse of highly touted freshman quarterback Travis Wilson didn't have to wait long Thursday, as Wilson made his debut in the second quarter.

Wilson, a 6-foot-6, 220-pound California product, ran up the middle for a 3-yard touchdown run on his second college play to put the Utes up 14-0 with 2:10 remaining in the first half.

Wilson also scored on a 6-yard run in the third quarter.

"Coaches told me this week I might get the chance to do some run stuff," Wilson said. "When coach [Aaron Roderick] told me I was going in, I just wanted to make a play when I got the chance."

Wilson finished the game with seven carries for 15 yards and completed two passes for 21 yards.

Afterward, Utah coach Kyle Whittingham called Wilson the future of Utah football, but said senior Jon Hays remains as Jordan Wynn's backup — at least technically.

"If something happened to Jordan, Jon would be the first up, but Travis handled himself well," he said.

Nine is fine

Some Utah fans might not like the Utes' nine-game conference schedule since it leaves fewer options for scheduling nonconference games, most notably against in-state opponents, but Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott said Thursday he believes playing nine conference games is ideal.

"Our schools like playing against each other," Scott said speaking with media members before Thursday's opener. "Fans turn out for them. We get a better turnout than we do for nonconference games, and the TV partners really like it. We like the tough competition and want more rather than less."

Scott reiterated there wouldn't be an exception made for the Utah-BYU rivalry that would allow the teams to play at the end of the season rather than the beginning.

Conference rules mandate all non-league games must be played in the first three weeks, with the exception of the USC-Notre Dame game, to make scheduling easier.

This and that

Former Utah coach Ron McBride watched the game from the press box. … Utah native Trevor Lewis, a member of the Stanley Cup champion L.A. Kings, was introduced at halftime. … Dave Fagergren had a career-high six tackles to lead Utah.