There are three certainties in life: Death, Taxes, and Utah winning home football games!
Utah quarterback Cam Rising threw for 92 yards and two touchdowns to lead the 11th-ranked Utes to a 23-12 victory over Baylor in a non-conference matchup at Rice-Eccles Stadium on Saturday. However, Unfortunately for Ute fans, Rising only played the first half after getting injured late in the second quarter. The senior didn’t return it what appeared to be a hand injury.
Rising was forced out of bounds and was slammed into the water coolers with just under two minutes to go in the second quarter. He headed to the locker room for X-rays, only to return to the sidelines later in street clothes, with his right hand’s middle fingers taped together.
The Utes did not elaborate on the specifics of Rising’s injury, but Utah coach Kyle Whittingham downplayed the situation, stating that it is “not real serious.”
Isaac Wilson stepped in as the backup quarterback, however, the highly touted freshman recruit couldn’t move the offense as the Utes managed just 95 yards the rest of the way.
The Utes relied on the running game of Micah Bernard and its led the team with a game-high 118 yards and a touchdown. And it’s defense.
Baylor’s Dequan Finn, making his second start, threw for 115 yards and a touchdown but had a challenging game against Utah’s defense. He lost a fumble and was sacked three times.
Utah dominated in the first half. The Utes scored midway through the first quarter when Money Parks caught a short pass and turned it into a 28-yard touchdown. Rising faked a handoff to Dijon Stanley before flipping the ball to Parks, who scored untouched.
The lead grew to 14-0 just 20 seconds later when Micah Bernard caught a 2-yard touchdown pass. Connor O’Toole forced a fumble on Finn with a blindside hit, which Karene Reid recovered at the Baylor 3-yard line, leading to Utah’s second touchdown.
Utah extended its lead to 23-0 thanks to Tao Johnson who returned a blocked 50-yard field goal attempt 77 yards for a touchdown. Johnson’s score was the first for the Utes since 1999.
