SALT LAKE CITY – In a non-conference showdown between Baylor (1-1) and No. 11 Utah (2-0), the Utes came out on top with a 23-12 victory on Saturday afternoon at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah.
In the loss, quarterback Dequan Finn (6Sr.) struggled mightily, completing just 9-of-21 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown. Despite a slow start, Baylor’s defense held its own against the talented Utes, but the continued offensive struggles throughout the contest didn’t allow the Bears to come through with the upset win.
“I think [Finn] got caught up in wanting to prove people wrong and wanting to make the play and do all of these things, and we’re still fighting that.,” head coach Dave Aranda said after the loss.
After jumping out to an early 23-0 lead, Utah’s starting quarterback, Cam Rising (7Sr.), left the game with an apparent injury and was replaced by backup quarterback Isaac Wilson (Fr.). With Wilson behind center, Baylor shut the Utes out for the remainder of the game, limiting them to no points and 104 total yards during that span.
With just over a minute remaining in the third quarter, Finn found wide receiver Josh Cameron (RJr.) on a screen-play that Cameron took 47 yards to the house for his first-career touchdown and Baylor’s first touchdown of the game. The Bears attempted a two-point conversion, but it was unsuccessful and trailed 23-12 going into the fourth quarter.
Following the score, Baylor’s defense forced another punt, but the offense couldn’t capitalize, going three-and-out and giving the ball right back to the Utes. Six of the Bears’ 13 offensive possessions were three-and-outs. Following the stop on defense, Utah put together a seven-minute, 65-yard drive that ended in a missed field goal.
The Bears had one final chance to make things interesting but turned the ball over on downs to ice the Utes victory. In the loss, Baylor was dominated in time-of-possession, 34:23-to-25:37
The Utes got on the board first when Rising hit wide receiver Money Parks (Sr.) in stride on a jet touch pass for a 28-yard score. On the touchdown, Parks ran unopposed into the endzone after faking a reverse pass to confuse the Bears’ defense and freeze them in their tracks.
On Baylor’s second possession of the game, left end Connor O’Toole (Sr.) came off the edge untouched and crushed Finn, forcing a fumble that the Utes recovered at the Bears’ three-yard line. Utah swiftly took advantage when Rising hit running back Micah Bernard (Sr.) in stride out of the backfield for a two-yard score.
Outside of the strip-sack of Finn, Baylor mustered just 12 yards on nine plays in the first quarter. In their first four offensive possessions, the Bears failed to pick up a first down or cross the mid-field line. Utah led 17-0 at the end of the first quarter.
Mid-way through the second quarter, Baylor was about to attempt a fourth and short, but a false start on left tackle Kaden Sieracki (RSo.) forced the Bears to try a 49-yard field goal. Kicker Isaiah Hankins’ (RJr.) attempt was blocked and returned for a 77-yard touchdown by safety Tao Johnson (So.) to extend Utah’s lead to 23-0 after a failed extra point.
Before the end of the first half, Rising was knocked out of bounds by defensive lineman Treven Ma’ae (RSr.) and went to the locker room afterward for an apparent injury. Wilson entered the contest in place of Rising, and Utah had an opportunity to add another field goal, but kicker Cole Becker (Sr.) missed the 45-yard attempt.
“We shouldn't have given up 23 points in that first half,” linebacker Keaton Thomas said postgame. “We were anxious and excited for the opportunity in front of us early in this game, and we were making mistakes that we don’t usually make, including big yardage plays and touchdowns. When we started to clean up, they didn’t score.”
The Bears took advantage and successfully marched down the field for the first time, and a targeting call against safety Alaka’i Gilman (Sr.) extended the drive and allowed Hankins to nail a 44-yard field goal to end the first half.
Despite being dominated by Utah in time-of-possession (18:33-to-11:27), first downs (11-to-4) and total yardage (197-to-48), Baylor went into the half trailing 23-3 with some semblance of momentum following Rising’s injury and the successful final drive.
Running back Dawson Pendergrass (So.) doubled Baylor’s offensive output in one play with a 46-yard rush to open the Bears' second possession of the second half. Deep in the Utes territory for the first time, Baylor was forced to settle for another Hankins field goal and trailed 23-6 with 6:23 remaining in the third.
“As a team, with it being the first time to play on the road, we all had to settle down and find a groove,” Cameron said. “Defensively, they settled down and found a groove. The offense did it too, but we need to finish drives.”
The Bears (1-1) will return home to take on Air Force (1-0) at 6:30 p.m. next Saturday, Sept. 14, at McLane Stadium.
| Name | CMP | ATT | YDS | CMP% | AVG | LNG | TD | INT | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dequan Finn | 9 | 22 | 111 | 41% | 12.3 | 47 | 1 | 0 | 98.3 |
| Name | CAR | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dawson Pendergrass | 9 | 69 | 7.6 | 46 | 0 |
| Richard Reese | 9 | 15 | 1.6 | 6 | 0 |
| Dequan Finn | 12 | 11 | 0.9 | 10 | 0 |
| Name | REC | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Josh Cameron | 2 | 59 | 29.5 | 47 | 1 |
| Michael Trigg | 4 | 27 | 6.75 | 8 | 0 |
| Hal Presley | 1 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 0 |
| Monaray Baldwin | 1 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| Name | TKL | SKS | TFL | INT | FR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keaton Thomas | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Matt Jones | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Devyn Bobby | 7 | 0 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Jackie Marshall | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Name | XPM | XPA | FGM | FGA | FG% | P | AVG | I20 | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Isaiah Hankins | N/A | N/A | 2 | 3 | 66% | N/A | N/A | N/A | 44 |
| Palmer Williams | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 6 | 62.6 | 2 | 79 |
The Rickest Rick There Is said:
If Rising had stayed in, it would have been 43 to 9.
