SALT LAKE CITY — Terrance Cain played like he had never lost his starting job Saturday.
Cain passed for two touchdowns in his first start in almost a year and Shaky Smithson returned a punt 77 yards for a score to lead 20th-ranked Utah to a 38-10 victory over UNLV.
“It felt so good to be out there with the boys I sweat with every day in practice,” said Cain, who got the start when Utah decided not to risk further injury to Jordan Wynn’s sprained right thumb.
Utah (2-0, 1-0) won its 19th straight home game and final Mountain West Conference opener before joining the Pac-10 next year.
Cain finished 13-for-20 for 207 yards with no interceptions or fumbles. He’d throw short passes and let the receivers run with it, then found Smithson all alone for his longest pass of the day on a 55-yard touchdown that helped the Utes blow open the game in the third quarter despite allowing their second blocked punt in as many games.
Fortunately for the Utes, the Rebels struggled in nearly every facet of punting. Utah scored three times on UNLV punting mistakes — Smithson’s return, a horrible snap, and a fumbled return.
Tim Hasson scored UNLV’s only touchdown on a 19-yard return of a blocked punt in the third quarter.
UNLV (0-2, 0-1) has still never won in Salt Lake City.
Eddie Wide ran for two touchdowns, and Utah’s defense didn’t allow a touchdown, stuffing the Rebels just outside the goal line on two drives late in the fourth quarter.
No. 4 TCU 62, Tennessee Tech 7
FORT WORTH, Texas — Matthew Tucker ran for two touchdowns, Andy Dalton threw for a score while setting another TCU record and the fourth-ranked Horned Frogs stretched their home winning streak to 15 games.
Dalton broke Max Knake’s school record of 622 career completions.
San Diego State 41, New Mexico State 21
LAS CRUCES, N.M. — Ronnie Hillman ran for 150 yards and four touchdowns and Ryan Lindley threw for 319 yards as the Aztecs moved to 2-0 for the first time in 16 years and snapped a 14-game nonconference losing streak.
