The No. 11 Utah Utes took on the Baylor Bears at Rice-Eccles in the second game of the season, holding on for a 23-12 win. The Utes looked well on their way to blowing the Bears out before a freak encounter with Gatorade coolers gave everyone flashbacks to the 2023 injury-plagued season.

Once star quarterback Cam Rising left the game due to a finger injury late in the second quarter, the Utes were tested offensively. Despite being gassed due to the offense's quick possessions, the defense continued to make crucial stops to hand the Bears their first loss of the season.

Here are the takeaways from the game.

What a start … Then the game changed

In the first quarter, the Utes were firing on all cylinders. Rising quickly handed off the ball to Money Parks who faked the end-around hand off to Dijon Stanley and Parks ran up the right side untouched for a 28-yard touchdown to take an early 7-0 lead. On Baylor’s next drive, defensive end Connor O’Toole would sack Daquan Finn and force the fumble for a loss of 22 yards, and linebacker Karene Reid recovered the ball on Baylor’s three yard line. Then Rising threw a short pass to the right, connecting with Micah Bernard for a 2 yard touchdown, extending the lead 14-0.

The route was on, right? Wrong.

Utah closed out the first quarter with 151 yards total and two touchdowns. Things were vastly different throughout the second. Utah would go 1-4 on third down and gain just 46 yards. With just under 2 minutes in the quarter Rising would run towards the sidelines still looking to pass, before taking a hit into the water coolers on the Baylor sideline. After coming up Cam was visibly bothered by his throwing hand. Cole Becker would follow that by missing a 45 yard field goal. Utah then also lost safety Alaka’i Gilman to targeting which helped get Baylor on the board with a 44 yard field goal.

With Rising off to the locker room, the air was sucked out of the stadium. The sudden energy shift was glaringly evident and the Utes just did what they could to hold on. Flashbacks from the previous season danced nervously in everyone’s heads.

Wilson understandably plays like a freshman

With the loss of Rising late in the second quarter, freshman quarterback Isaac Wilson stepped in for another opportunity to run the offense. Offensive Coordinator Andy Ludwig quickly decided to played conservatively with Wilson as the freshman began noticeably flustered. Because of this, Ludwig decided the offense would be heavily reliant on running the ball. The offense struggled without Rising on the field, but running back Micah Bernard (19 carries for 118 yards) helped Utah chew up the clock along with Mike Mitchell, who dodged an early injury scare.

Wilson finished throwing 4-9 for 30 yards and one sack. It wasn’t a stand out performance, but overall Whittingham mentioned he did a “nice job” of managing the game.

While it’s unknown the extent of Cam’s injury, Whittingham said it wasn’t “real serious” but his status remains unknown. UteNation has confirmed that the belief is Rising dodged serious injury, but none of that matters until the heart and soul of the Utes is back on the field.

Utah has their workhorse RB as the pecking order is clear

With all the talk of Utah needing an every-down back, it’s time to end that speculation. Bernard has proven more than ready for that role in the first two games. Despite only 5 carries against SUU, he averaged 6.6 yards per carry. On Saturday, Bernard averaged 6.2 and, most importantly, he finished with just under 20 carries (19).

Utah’s do-it-all senior looks to be developing a stranglehold on the role, as promising freshmen Mitchell eases into the college game and Stanley increases his specialty packages. One noticeable development on Saturday was the healthy absence of Jaylon Glover. Senior walkon Charlie Cincent saw reps before Glover, with 2 carries for 11 yards.

This group needs to stay healthy and they breathed a sigh of relief on Saturday when Mitchell re-entered the game following what looked like it could be a season-ending injury. If they stayed healthy, they have all of the ingredients to add to the Utes’ potent offense, with Bernard leading the way.

That was a “lights out” defense

Defensively, Whittingham noted in the presser that the defense played, “lights out”. Dominating the Bears all four quarters, the Utes’ allowed only 111 passing yards and 108 rushing yards. The first quarter alone following the sack and forced fumble by Connor O’Toole, Utah was holding a 17-0 lead and Baylor with -17 yards rushing and held quarterback Daquan Finn to one completion for 5 yards.

Once the Rising injury happened, Baylor received a jolt, but Utah’s defense still held strong. The play of the game came when defensive end Van Fillinger blocked Baylor’s field goal attempt that dropped into the hands of Tao Johnson who sprinted to the end zone for a 77 yard touchdown. Johnson finished the game with 7 solo tackles and 2 TFL and one touchdown. O’Toole finished with 7 tackles, 2 sacks and 2 TFL of 28 yards.

Up next

Utah hits the road next week to take on Utah State September 14th in Logan. Utah should enter the game in the Top-10 unless someone jumps them in the polls in large part due to how the Baylor game turned once Rising was injured.