Final Score: (22) Utah 42, UNLV 21

Salt Lake City, UT (Sports Network) - Brian Johnson garnered 183 passing yards and two touchdowns on 15-of-24 completions with an interception and also rushed five times for 80 yards and a TD, as the No. 22 Utah Utes crushed the UNLV Rebels, 42-21, in the Mountain West Conference opener for both schools.

Backup quarterback Matt Asiata had just one pass, a 32-yard touchdown, and rushed 11 times for 34 yards and a score for the Utes (2-0, 1-0 MWC). Freddie Brown had a pair of catches for 60 yards and a TD.

Omar Clayton was 19-of-30 passing for 159 yards and a score for the Rebels (1-1, 0-1). Frank Summers gained 87 yards on 23 touches and ended with two scores, while Phillip Payne caught four passes for 63 yards and a TD.

UNLV took its opening drive 80 yards in 11 plays, capped by a two-yard touchdown run from Summers, to put the Rebels up 7-0. That lead lasted until the second quarter, as neither school could find the end zone in the remaining 9:49 of the opening frame.

On Utah's second possession of the second quarter, Johnson dropped back to pass on 3rd-and-12 to find all of his targets covered. The senior signal- caller decided against an air attack and kept the ball himself to scramble 56 yards into the end zone unscathed. The run tied the contest at 7-7 with a bit over eight minutes left before the half.

The Rebels took their ensuing possession 80 yards in nine plays to the end zone for a 14-7 lead. The 3:07-long drive was highlighted by a 45-yard reception from Payne and capped on Summers' three-yard TD run with 5:01 showing on the clock.

Asiata then ran in a two-yard TD with 52 ticks on the clock, and the game went into the half tied at 14.

Two quick scores -- a 32-yard reception by Brown and a 15-yard run by David Reed -- gave the Utes a 28-14 lead with just under nine minutes to go in the third.

Colt Sampson hauled in an eight-yard TD pass late in the third to send Utah into the final frame leading 35-14.

Asiata hooked up with Jereme Brooks on a 32-yard scoring strike 1 1/2 minutes into the fourth, capping a five-play, 78-yard drive that left the Utes sitting on a 42-14 cushion.

On UNLV's ensuing possession, Clayton found Payne for a 10-yard scoring strike to close out a 16-play, 77-yard drive that lasted 7:14 and brought the Rebels within 42-21 with just over six minutes left in regulation.

Game Notes

The Utes were coming off a huge victory, beating Michigan in the opener at the Big House by a score of 25-23. As for the Rebels, a group that won just two games each of the last three years, they were coming off their first win of 2008 for head coach Mike Sanford right out of the gate with a 27-17 triumph over Utah State in Nevada...The Rebels fell to 2-12 against Utah and have never won consecutive games in this series.

09/07 00:08:03 ET