SALT LAKE CITY _ Myles Gaskin insisted earlier in the week that he wasn't worried about the state of Washington's rushing attack.
Then he quickly showed why Saturday night.
The senior running back dived to the right pylon to score on a 38-yard touchdown run and cap an impressive opening drive for the Washington offense, leading the charge in the 10th-ranked Huskies' 21-7 victory over Utah in their Pac-12 opener before a sellout crowd at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Gaskin finished with 143 yards on 30 carries, both season highs.
Jake Browning ran for one touchdown and threw another to Utah native Ty Jones, and Washington's defense forced three turnovers _ a Jordan Miller interception and two fumble recoveries from Taylor Rapp.
Utah (2-1) managed just 261 yards of total offense. The Utes scored their lone touchdown on a Zack Moss 4-yard run late in the first quarter; UW's defense shut them out the rest of the way.
The Huskies improved their record to 2-1 as they prepare to host No. 23 Arizona State at Husky Stadium next week.
Washington came into the game with questions about a running game that ranked No. 8 in the Pac-12 and was averaging just 4.43 yards per game.
"I don't really think there's an issue," Gaskin said earlier in the week.
There certainly wasn't Saturday night against a Utah defense that came into the game ranked No. 1 in the Pac-12 in yards allowed (143.5 per game).
Much as Gaskin did in the Huskies' 2017 conference opener at Colorado _ when he rushed for 202 yards on 27 carries _ he got going early against Utah. He benefited from great blocking on his 38-yard touchdown run _ and from wide receiver Quinten Pounds in particular _ and after a short replay review his score stood.
The Huskies also benefited from targeting calls against two Utah defenders. The first came after a hit on Gaskin in the first half, resulting the ejection of Marquise Blair.
In the third quarter, Utah's Leki Fotu was ejected after his late hit to Browning's chin. Browning was particularly fired up about the hit, yelling in the direction of the Utah sideline as the play was being reviewed.
The hit wiped out a Browning interception (after Gaskin fell on a wheel route) and helped set up his 6-yard touchdown pass to Jones. Initially, Jones was ruled out of bounds, but that call was overturned after a review showed the receiver's knee was down before sliding out of the left end edge of the end zone.
That gave the Huskies a 21-7 lead with 8:37 left in the third quarter.
Utah squandered a prime opportunity to cut its deficit early in the fourth quarter after defensive tackle Pita Tonga intercepted a Browning pass and returned it 21 yards to the UW 11-yard line. Tonga had a clear path to the end zone but fumbled the ball out of bounds on his return.
The play was Browning at his worst _ backpedaling, spinning and flailing away from the pass rush, then making an ill-advised throw with the defense surrounding him.
But UW's defense held strong, allowing just 9 yards over the next three plays. On fourth-and-one from the Huskies' 2-yard line, the pass from Utah QB Tyler Huntley to wide-open tight end Connor Haller was dropped at the goal line.
Later in the fourth quarter, Utah was within striking distance again _ with a completed pass down to the UW 2-yard line _ but the play was called back after a holding penalty on the Utes' offensive line. Two plays later, Huntley's fourth-and-16 pass fell incomplete, ending Utah's last best chance.
