Waco, Texas • Nate Johnson’s fourth-quarter heroics, paired with a huge interception by Cole Bishop, helped Utah score an improbable 20-13 victory over Baylor on Saturday.
Jaylon Glover scored the go-ahead TD with 17 seconds remaining, running along the goalline to waste time, before being pushed into the end zone by a defender.
That score was made possible by Bishop’s preceding INT.
Utah then had to survive a late defensive miscue, surrendering a 47-yard bomb, with 1 second left. Baylor got one more play from Utah’s 22, but a fade to the corner was ruled incomplete, despite contact.
Nate Johnson with a huge drive
The Utes have seen enough of Bryson Barnes.
Nate Johnson came in for a fourth-quarter drive and took the Utes 88 yards in 15 plays spanning 8:02. He finished off the drive by running it up the middle for a 7-yard score with 1:59 left.
Following Cole Becker’s extra point, the game is tied at 13-13, setting up a climactic conclusion.
End 3Q: Baylor 13, Utah 6
The Utes climbed back within a score after coming up with a field goal following a Zemaiah Vaughn interception.
Following the pick, Utah squandered some chances — negating a big run on account of a holding penalty, and then, on third-and-20, playing it safe with a designed run up the middle by QB Bryson Barnes.
Still, the Utes held Baylor to a three-and-out, and began to move the ball down the field, thanks to a big 11-yard catch by Mycah Pittman to get a first down.
Baylor expands lead over Utah to 13-3
The Bears got the ball to open the second half, and it only took them 4 minutes to put more points on the board.
A 35-yard pass over the top down the left sideline did the most damage.
The Utes also helped Baylor’s cause when a late-hit penalty put them inside the 10.
From there, Utah’s defense held its ground, and Baylor settled for a 24-yard field goal.
Baylor leads Utah 10-3 at halftime
At halftime in Waco, Baylor leads Utah 10-3.
Quarterback Sawyer Robertson gave the Bears the lead on a keeper, running untouched around the left side and into the end zone.
The Utes have not been particularly effective on either side of the ball.
Baylor outgained the Utes 222-153 overall in the first half. Utah has only 65 passing yards, and the team is just 1-for-7 on third down.
Meanwhile, the Utes’ vaunted defense has zero sacks against a Baylor O-line that was thought to be vulnerable to attack after a poor Week 1 performance vs. Texas State.
Utes get on the board
It’s all tied up in Waco, after Cole Becker made a 31-yard field goal with 9:04 left in the second quarter.
The highlight of the drive was a 44-yard burst up the middle by Ja’Quinden Jackson, followed by a 22-yard pass from Nate Johnson to Devaughn Vele. Once in scoring territory, though, the Utes went backwards.
A false-start penalty made things tough, and then Johnson once again tried to run it on a keeper on third-and-15, and the play was blown up.
Baylor takes a 3-0 lead
Utah wasn’t hurt too badly by the turnover.
At the 13:03 mark of the second quarter, we finally have a score, though, as Baylor knocks in a 34-yard field goal.
The Utes were again lucky to escape, as the Bears hurt themselves with multiple penalties on the short drive following the Bryson Barnes pick.
End 1Q: Utah 0, Baylor 0
Well, that was not the start the Utes wanted.
Kyle Whittingham praised his QBs vs. Florida for not turning the ball over all game. As the opening period wound down in Waco, however, a panicky Bryson Barnes escaped pressure initially, but with more on the way, he forced a pass into traffic and had it picked off.
Utah’s conservative playcalling did not generate a ton of great looks over those 15 minutes, as they amassed only 43 total yards. Barnes is 1 of 4 passing for 13 yards. And the Utes have rushed it 10 times for only 30 yards.
Baylor is 18 yards away from the end zone.
Injury updates
Cam Rising will miss a second straight game to start the season, putting the focus once again on former walk-on Bryson Barnes.
Tight end Brant Kuithe is also out this morning.
No. 12 Utah at Baylor
Utah’s Big 12 era has begun.
Sort of.
Kind of.
Not really.
While the No. 12 Utes will get a taste of their future conference this weekend in Waco, it’s the furthest thing from coach Kyle Whittingham’s mind. It’s about Baylor, not the Big 12.
“It hasn’t even entered into my thought process,” he said, “and hopefully not for the guys either. It’s just another game we have to get ready for.”
Here’s everything you need to get ready for the Bears.
How to watch No. 12 Utah at Baylor
Kickoff: Saturday, 10 a.m.
TV: ESPN
Radio: ESPN 700
Weather: Waco is currently under an excessive heat warning and Saturday’s high is expected to reach 102
Keys to the game
1. Defensive line play
The Bears will be without quarterback Blake Shapen, who suffered an MCL injury in the team’s season-opener. It was an injury that seemed inevitable given how poorly the Baylor O-line played.
Backup QB Sawyer Robertson is athletic and should be able to move around a bit more. But Utah’s defensive line should still be licking its chops heading into this one.
“We started off on a good note,” Whittingham said of his team’s defensive pressure against Florida. “Five sacks in a game is outstanding. Arguably our best pass rusher, Connor O’Toole, we need to get him back whenever that may be and that will just add to that. Jonah Elliss, Logan Fano and Van Fillinger played the majority of the snaps and they did a good job of getting pressure on the quarterback. Once we get Junior Tafuna back, that will allow us to have more push inside to not allow the quarterback to step up into the pocket. So, through the first game, we played really good football.”
Even so, Whittingham said the defensive game plan starts with the run.
“I am sure [defensive coordinator Morgan] Scalley and the defense will have a plan and it all starts with stopping the run,” he said. “I don’t care if it is 1915, 1990 or 2023 – if you can’t run the ball, it is hard to win. So, conversely if you can stop the run on defense, it is hard to get beat, so that is always job No. 1 for us.”
Getting star linebacker Karene Reid, who left the Florida game with an undisclosed injury, back on the field would also be a boost for the U.
2. Move the chains
Speaking of the rushing attack, Utah wants to get its own going.
“We didn’t run the ball as effectively or efficiently as we needed to. Typically, we are a very good run team and we only ran for around 105 yards,” Whittingham said. “It wasn’t as bad as the stats indicated, but it wasn’t up to our standards.”
The health of running back Ja’Quinden Jackson will be a big part of that. Jackson came into the season with high expectations but only ran for 15 yards on five carries against Florida.
“Something that was bothering him in fall camp showed up again,” Whittingham said. “We planned on him being more involved but he got slowed down by an injury. Hopefully he’ll be more available this week.”
3. Can Cam play?
Bryson Barnes and Nate Johnson were good enough to take care of the Gators last week, but the Utes still hope senior Cam Rising will be ready to take his starting job back soon.
“It’s day by day and we’ll just see how he responds and how the injury responds,” Whittingham said. “This is his first week of completely no limits and seeing how he moves around.”
Whittingham said it will once again be a game-day decision.
Headlines
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Former walk-on QB Bryson Barnes is finally on scholarship, which means he doesn’t have to go back to his part-time job at Lowe’s.
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