The No. 12 Utah Utes took on the Baylor Bears at Rice-Eccles in the second game of the season, and the Utes looked well on their way to blowing the Bears out before the game took a turn with Cam Rising injuring his hand at the end of the first half. Utah would depend on the defense and the run game to hold on for the 23-12 win.

Let’s take a look back at our burning questions for the Baylor game.

Will Utah attack with more of the run game?

By the end of the first quarter the Utes were en route to beat the Bears comfortably, and Andy Ludwig opened up the playbook for Rising, dominating in the run and passing game. Late in the second quarter, the Utes would need to turn to freshman Isaac Wilson after Rising left the game due to an injury to his throwing hand. Ludwig quickly rolled back his playbook and pushed a run-heavy offense.

Utah would turn to experience and consistency in senior back Micah Bernard. On Saturday, Bernard averaged 6.2 ypc and finished with just shy of 20 carries for 118 yards and one touchdown.

Freshman Mike Mitchell was in and out of the game due to an injury that’s been plaguing him. He finished with six carries for 20 yards, and Dijon Stanley added another 16 yards. One surprising running back missing was Jaylon Glover, who didn’t see the field at all.

“Just wasn’t in the plan today. Just wasn’t in the plan and no specific reason other than we had those other guys penciled in for what we’re doing,” Whittingham said.

How do the Utah wide receivers match up against Baylor’s secondary?

The passing game pretty much came to a full halt in the second half, turning from a game that the Utes may win comfortably, to sustaining drives to eat up the clock to hold the win. Utah gained just 95 yards of total offense in the second half.

Money Parks led the receivers with three receptions for 80 yards and one touchdown, while the remainder of the receptions totaled just 42 yards.

Without Rising in the game, it was clear how much the offense took a hit in production. If Rising doesn’t return against Utah State, Whittingham is confident in Wilson and he will get the reps to prepare for the start. Hopefully the extra reps will bring back some productivity in the passing game.

Who replaces Kenan Johnson?

How’d things fair for the Utes replacing Johnson at cornerback? It looked like pretty well. Elijah Davis has continued to make an immediate impact for the injured Johnson,lining up opposite Zemaiah Vaughn.

“Scooby [Elijah] Davis did a really nice job in Kenan Johnson's absence…if he continues to play like that we’re going to be in good shape," Whittingham said.

Cameron Calhoun is slowly easing back into the game, and after fully rejoining the team in practice, he played just six snaps. Overall, while the Baylor quarterback struggled in the passing game, it was clear the Utes have a plan for the secondary moving forward without Johnson.

The 2-0 Utah Utes hit the road for their first road game of the season against the 1-1 Utah State Aggies. The Utes prep for the possibility to be without Rising under center and face off against former Ute Bryson Barnes.

Let’s look at our burning questions for this game.

Can the Utes generate a passing offense with Isaac Wilson?

While the Utes face uncertainty with Cam Rising returning this week, questions surround the offense and if they will stay competitive with their freshman quarterback. While Wilson is still developing, it’s essential to maintain momentum and find a way to establish more of a passing game to help balance the offense with the run game.

As conference play is around the corner, it is evident there is a significant drop off between QB1 and QB2; understandable with a freshman quarterback. Wilson has shown poise after taking over the offense in the second half of the games, noting in the Baylor presser he needs to be ready and prepared for his team.

For the Utes to continue playing at a high level offensively, this game will be important for Utes to set up Wilson for success and build confidence in his known abilities.

Playing against Bryson Barnes, does it present an advantage for the Utes defense?

Just a year ago, Bryson Barnes was the starting quarterback for an injured Cam Rising. Having played with a large chunk of guys from the Utah defensive roster, does this present an opportunity to take advantage of Barnes tendencies in the passing game? After two games, he’s thrown two interceptions; one in each game and throwing for a total of 301 yards.

Currently in two games, the Utes defense has only allowed 186 yards passing, averaging 4.43 yards per attempt. There is no doubt the Utes defense is consistent and dominate, and don’t see them taking it easy on Barnes.

Can the Utes clean up special teams?

A highlight from the special teams came from free safety Tao Johnson's “kick six” in their win against Baylor, but that was the only thing “special” about the unit. Kicker Cole Becker was 1-3 on field goal attempts and that wasn't negative. Jack Bouwmeester bobbled a snap on an attempted PAT where he gathered it up and looked to throw, but would fumble instead. Luckily he was able to take down Baylor linebacker Matt Jones from returning the ball for a touchdown.

Whittingham noted in the presser that he wasn’t happy with special teams and that it wouldn’t be a fun week in the film room for the specialists.

There are definitely things to clean up within the group in preparation for Utah State, and we’ll have to see how that plays out this weekend.