Despite Concerning Defensive Showing, Utah Dominates Baylor 55-28
Nov 15, 2025, 8:43 PM | Updated: Nov 16, 2025, 9:07 am
Nov 15, 2025; Waco, Texas, USA; Utah Utes quarterback Byrd Ficklin (15) carries the ball for a 67-yard touchdown during the first half at McLane Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Chris Jones-Imagn Images
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WACO, Tx. — Utah came to Waco with a mindset of taking care of business on the road, and the Utes did just that — mixing explosive plays with opportunistic defense in a 55–28 win over Baylor. Adding the win, Kyle Whittingham’s team continues to keep pace with the top of the Big 12 race.
Utah’s rushing attack was everything it needed to be tonight, but maybe, even a little too explosive. Byrd Ficklin led the Utes with 166 yards and two touchdowns on five carries, while Wayshawn Parker added 129 yards and one touchdown on 15 carries.
Baylor’s Sawyer Robertson did his best to keep the Bears in striking distance, he finished with 430 yards and three touchdowns. The Utes made enough plays defensively— including two interceptions, one a pick-six, to create a comfortable margin on the scoreboard.
In the end, Utah finished with 483 total yards of offense, 380 of which came on the ground. The defense gave up 563 yards to Baylor, but had two interceptions— one of which returned for a touchdown, and three stops on 4th down attempts.
Utah’s Fast Start Sets the Tone
After both teams opened with punts, it was Baylor that blinked first. Quarterback Sawyer Robertson connected with Ashtyn Hawkins for a 37-yard strike that put the Bears in scoring range, but Utah’s defense stiffened and forced a missed field goal. That early hold set the tone — and Utah’s offense made it count soon after.
Devon Dampier orchestrated Utah’s first touchdown drive with the poise of a veteran, leaning on running back Wayshawn Parker to move the chains before hitting tight end Dallen Bentley on a perfectly executed play-action pass for a 25-yard score. From there, the floodgates opened.
Cornerback Scooby Davis jumped a slant route and returned it 65 yards for his second pick-six of the season, igniting the sideline and giving Utah a 14–0 lead. Moments later, freshman quarterback Byrd Ficklin broke free for a 67-yard touchdown run — the kind of instant offense that’s quickly becoming Utah’s identity.
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Baylor punched back with an 8-play, 75-yard scoring drive, but Parker answered with a 64-yard sprint down the right side untouched. The Utes led 28–7 before fatigue finally set in on defense. Robertson exploited the tempo late in the half, leading two quick scoring drives — one coming in the final 22 seconds — to trim Utah’s lead to 28–17 at halftime.
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Byrd Ficklin’s Fireworks and a Defensive Reset
Defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley’s unit adjusted from there. It wasn’t the stingiest of performances, but it led to a much better effort in the second half.
Still, momentum favored Baylor coming out of the locker room, but Whittingham’s team wasn’t rattled. After a slow opening drive, the Utah defense bent but didn’t break, giving up another long drive but limiting the damage to a field goal to make it 28–20.
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That’s when Byrd Ficklin delivered another highlight — a 74-yard touchdown run punctuated by a vicious stiff arm that reignited Utah’s sideline and silenced the crowd.
Jackson Bennee’s edge blitzes began to disrupt Robertson’s rhythm, and on a crucial 4th-and-8, John Henry Daley finished the job with a sack to force a turnover on downs. Utah’s offense responded with an 8-play, 54-yard drive capped by a NaQuari Rogers rushing touchdown to make it 42–20.
Concerning Cracks in the Secondary
For all of Utah’s offensive fireworks, the defensive secondary had a night it’ll want to forget. Robertson wasn’t super efficient but at times really picked apart the back end of the defense, finishing 29-of-58 for 430 yards and three touchdowns.
Baylor repeatedly found success attacking vertically — 11 big passing plays accounted for 288 of those yards — exposing breakdowns in communication and leverage that Utah hadn’t shown since early in the season.
Cornerbacks were caught looking into the backfield on double moves, safeties were late rotating over the top, and losing track of receivers throughout the night.
Even as Utah’s pass rush heated up in the second half, the secondary’s struggles allowed Baylor to make it interesting through the middle eight minutes of the game.
It’s a glaring area that Whittingham and Scalley will surely hammer in the film room as the Utes prepare for the final two games.
Closing Time vs Baylor, 55-28 Final
The defense slammed the door in the fourth quarter. Bennee pressured Robertson again, this time forcing an off-target throw that linebacker Trey Reynolds intercepted and returned 31 yards to the Baylor 9.
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Moments later, Parker caught a short pass in the flat, shook a linebacker with a hesitation move, and dove into the end zone — his third touchdown of the night — to push the lead to 49–20.
Baylor added a touchdown late, which led to a little skirmish with Scooby Davis and Kole Wilson. However, Utah’s offense second-string offense took the field and marched down the field for another touchdown drive, Rogers punching it into the end zone one last time.
Utah’s win wasn’t the prettiest, in fact, it was pretty concerning defensively, but at the end of the day, the Utes won by multiple scores yet again.
After giving up 362 yards in the first half, the defense allowed just 193 in the second half. Meanwhile, the offensive production was almost perfectly split in half between halves: 243 yards and 28 points in the first half, 240 yards and 27 points in the second half.
Whittingham and his defensive staff have things to address this next week, but the Utes generated five touchdowns on plays of 25 yards or more, had two takeaways that directly led to 14 points.
Above all else, Utah went into another Big 12 program’s house, went wire-to-wire with the lead, without their best defensive effort and still earned a commanding 27-point margin of victory.
