PK: Utah Football Has Officially Arrived In Big 12 Conference
Sep 21, 2024, 6:51 PM | Updated: Sep 23, 2024, 4:21 pm
STILLWATER, Okla. – Three gimmes to open the season for Utah Football proved nothing, really, beyond reaffirming that obviously inferior talent cannot beat the Big 12 favorite.
The test was always coming in week four when the former Pac-12 power ventured into the Big 12 heartland to saddle up against the Oklahoma State Cowboys.
So long 𝙋𝙚𝙚𝙩𝙮 👋#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/W33kNDZYEG
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) September 21, 2024
The Calm Before The Storm
All offseason, beginning when the schedule was announced, the conference anticipated a glamour match-up between two ranked teams to compete for television eyeballs against other hyped games spread across the dial.
Two perennially ranked teams, once again in the current top 15, playing on a sun-splashed Saturday afternoon on an over-the-air channel. Storylines aplenty, highlighted by each side featuring a quarterback in his seventh year of college.
Oops.
You know what they say about the best-laid plans. In bizarre fashion that could result in a much bigger story, and yet painfully familiar for the Utes, blame it on a dastardly water cooler.
And here come the 𝐔𝐭𝐞𝐬 🙌#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/YEHUafg9wI
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) September 21, 2024
No Cam Rising, No Problem For Utah Football
Inadvertently, in what could be considered the biggest surprise in recent program history, Utah might have a quarterback controversy. Without team leader Cam Rising at quarterback, the Utes played what could be their most difficult road environment and beat Oklahoma State 22-19 in the program’s first Big 12 game.
Making his second career start, Isaac Wilson looked every bit the part of QB1 rather than only serving as a fill-in for the starter. The former Corner Canyon star made the usual freshman mistakes – case in point, two interceptions – but he showed plenty of poise to deserve another start next week against Arizona.
Passing for third-down conversions, running for a first down on fourth-and-short, or scampering for a 48-yard gain, Wilson displayed all his skill. Another week of getting all the first-team reps in practice – – Wilson got all of them leading up to the start against Utah State and rotated with the first team last week – will only work to Utah’s advantage going forward.
Isaac WHEELSon!! 💨💨💨
11 picks up 48 on the ground!
📺 @CFBONFOX #GoUtes | @Isaac_kawika pic.twitter.com/5hxQ8jIhf0
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) September 21, 2024
“Cam Rising won two championships for us,” coach Kyle Whittingham said. “He’s one of the top quarterbacks in the country. When he’s ready to go that’s probably the direction we’ll go.”
Hold on a minute, though, he did finish with: “I guess you never say never, but I can’t see that changing.”
Maybe also the Utah coaches learned from last season’s debacle with the quarterback position. At the least, go with a healthy player capable of working all week in practice.
Once again, in repeating all last year, Rising sat out the game with his latest injury. This time he is nursing banged-up fingers on his throwing hand from an injury he suffered two weeks ago when he got shoved into water coolers on the Baylor sideline.
Also once again, like he did for the first month of last season before ruling out Rising for the season due to a lingering knee injury, Whittingham played it coy publicly on the quarterback situation leading up to the game. Same thing for Rising, who was ruled out 20 minutes before kickoff, in what has become a tiring refrain during media interviews.
Defense Tells The Story In Stillwater
Of course, with this defense, the standard at quarterback only requires the most basic form of efficiency. Utah’s defense dominated in all aspects at all levels, literally sending starting quarterback Alan Bowman to the bench.
Coach Mike Gundy, whose 80 career losses is one more than Whittingham, had seen enough through two quarters and changed quarterbacks at halftime. The move generated absolutely nothing, as redshirt sophomore Garret Rangel fared just the same,
Gundy then had enough of Rangel and re-inserted Bowman in the fourth quarter. Bowman led a wild stretch late in the fourth quarter that made the score much more respectable than the game appeared.
Before the two late touchdowns, the game was the stuff made of Whittingham’s dreams. Besides the stifling defense, the offense controlled the game in the trenches.
Total Rush Yards:
Utah – 249
OSU – 48#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/eWXA5FYDVu— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) September 21, 2024
Time of possession slanted heavily in Utah’s favor, which is a sign of dominance by the offensive line. The Utes had the ball for 42 of the 60 minutes.
“We were the more physical team without question,” Whittingham.
Micah Bernard rushed for a career-high 182 yards, including busting through would-be tacklers for big gains. Finally, he said, in his sixth year Bernard has earned the trust of the team.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Bernard said.
