Behind Enemy Lines: What Utah is Saying About Baylor in Week 2

As Baylor (0-1) gets set to host the back-to-back Pac 12 champion and 14th-ranked Utah Utes (1-0) on Saturday morning at McLane Stadium, let’s check in and see what the Utes are saying about the Bears ahead of the inaugural meeting between the two future Big 12 foes.

Unless you’ve spent the past week under a rock, you’re well aware of the disastrous performance that unfolded in Waco last week. Baylor was absolutely dominated in the trenches last week by Texas State and it not only cost them the game, but their starting quarterback as well for a few weeks.

Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham was asked about the matchup, as his Utes’ squad seems to have the clear advantage after his offensive line didn’t allow any sacks and his defense missed just four tackles in their 24-11 victory over Florida in Week 1.

“We're focused on playing hard," Whittingham said after Tuesday's practice. "We're very confident that [Baylor] will make a big step forward between game one and two. If we come out and control the line of scrimmage like we were able to do the previous week, tackle cleanly, execute cleanly on offense, then we've got a chance. We'll see what happens."

Whittingham joined 365 Sports earlier this week to preview Saturday’s matchup and was asked about preparing for the Bears and not letting their performance against Texas State impact how the Utes perceive Baylor.

“We told our team in our meeting that we’re not going to see the same Baylor team from Week 1,” said Whittingham. “Baylor is smart and their coaching staff will regroup and figure things out. They’re going to fix their deficiencies, so we’re going to have to play our best football to get a win.”

Utah is no stranger to playing in big games and hostile environments with the target on their back. As the Utes get set to embark on McLane Stadium Saturday, Whittingham explained his team’s mindset to Smoaky.

“I’ve known Baylor from afar. I know they have a beautiful stadium with a great setting,” said Whittingham. “I know they’re a physical team with that Coach Aranda defense. I know Coach Jeff Grimes, he was right down the road at BYU, so there is some familiarity but I’m looking forward to it.”

The Utes will also likely be without their starting quarterback once again against Baylor, as Cam Rising is still trying to come back from an ACL injury suffered at the end of last season. Utah went with two quarterbacks against Florida — Bryson Barnes and Nate Johnson — both of whom played very well.

When asked about what Rising means to the Utah program, Whittingham responded with a lot of pride.

“He’s an absolute warrior. He is the alpha dog of this football team and he leads the leaders,” said Whittingham. “Everyone looks to him. He sets the bar and demands that everyone meets those expectations. You couldn’t ask for any better personality or leadership from any position, but especially the quarterback position.”

Offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig was asked about the challenge of using multiple quarterbacks and how he thought the duo handled the situation.

"We have used (the rotation) at different times throughout my career. I thought it was okay. It could be more efficient, I could be more efficient in terms of orchestrating it — the when and the why with it. But I thought the quarterbacks did an outstanding job of handling it. It's not easy for a quarterback to be in the flow, get yanked, another guy comes in, things like that. I need to manage it better, but I thought the young men handled it very well."

Regardless of which quarterback gets the start for Utah, Baylor better be on their A game. We’re likely going to find out for sure how this season will unfold for Baylor after this weekend. 

Kickoff is set for 11:00 a.m. and will air on ESPN. As always, get the latest on Baylor Football from SicEm365.com and tune into our pregame show on the 365 Sports YouTube Channel or KWTX on local television in Central Texas!