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By The Associated Press September 04. 2015 2:00AM Utah spoils Harbaugh's debut at Michigan Utah defensive back Justin Thomas (12) returns an interception for a touchdown in the fourth quarter of Thursday's win over Michigan. AP PHOTO SALT LAKE CITY — Jim Harbaugh was swarmed by cameramen from the moment he stepped of the bus at Rice-Eccles Stadium. College football's newest rock star had finally arrived to play a game after eight months of hype. And Utah was sick of hearing about it. The Utes felt disrespected despite being favored and spoiled Harbaugh's Michigan coaching debut with a smothering defense, beating the Wolverines 24-17 on Thursday night in the opener for both teams. "We beat Michigan for the third time in a row," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. "That's a heck of an accolade for our program." Harbaugh came as advertised — blue long-sleeved shirt, blue cap with the block "M," khakis and lanyard with whistle attached. Unfortunately for Michigan fans, the team didn't look drastically different than the 2014 version. The quarterback struggled and the run game was nonexistent. That spelled trouble for the offense. "I thought we were playing a little bit tentative in the first half and not coming off the ball like we need to," Harbaugh said. "We did miss some holes, backs missed some holes. All things to grow and improve on and I thought we did at that as the game went on." Harbaugh, the former Michigan quarterback who returned to his alma mater eight months ago after leaving the NFL's San Francisco 49ers, faced many of the same issues that plagued former coach Brady Hoke. Quarterback Jake Rudock beat out Shane Morris for the start and the Iowa transfer had a reputation for limiting turnovers. Rudock promptly threw three against Utah, and finished 27 for 43 for 279 yards and two touchdowns. Michigan was held to 355 yards, gaining only 76 on the ground. Eighty of those yards came on Michigan's final drive of the game. De'Veon Smith led Michigan with 17 carries, but averaged just 2.8 yards. Harbaugh rolled in backups Ty Isaac and Derrick Green and they didn't fare any better. Michigan had the No. 64 rush offense in 2014 and things didn't look any better against Utah. The Utes took a 24-10 lead on Justin Thomas' 55-yard interception return for a touchdown with 7:58 left in the fourth quarter. "Those are plays you dream about," Thomas said. "I just broke on the play and that's all I remember and then just took off. I prayed about getting a play like this and it just came through." Linebacker Gionni Paul had a game-high 14 tackles for Utah. Marcus Williams and Cory Butler-Bryd joined Thomas with interceptions as Rudock was held in check. His lone touchdown pass came with 54 seconds left — and into triple coverage. Tight end Jake Butt made a great play, leaping over a defender for the score. Utah running back Devontae Booker overcame a slow start to finish with a team-high seven catches for 55 yards and added 69 yards rushing. Travis Wilson threw for 208 yards and ran for 53 yards and a touchdown. No. 22 ARIZONA 42, TEXAS-SAN ANTONIO 32: At Tucson, Ariz., Anu Solomon threw four touchdown passes to help Arizona win its season opener but the Wildcats suffered a big blow when All-America linebacker Scooby Wright went out early with a left knee injury. Arizona sputtered on offense most of the night and allowed UTSA, a team returning two offensive starters, to rack up 525 total yards. The junior Wright, who swept the major defensive player of the year awards last season, went down in the first quarter and spent the second half in street clothes, walking with a cane. UTSA's Blake Bogenschutz had 332 yards and two touchdowns on 25-of-43 passing after throwing an interception for a touchdown on the game's first pass. http://www.mailtribune.com/article/20150904/SPORTS/150909806 © 2015 Copyright © 1995-2011 Crain Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use Privacy Statement -->