SALT LAKE CITY — Cam Rising threw for 92 yards and two touchdowns before leaving the game due to an injury to his throwing hand as No. 11 Utah beat Baylor 23-12 on Saturday.
A fan yells to Cam Rising “give us a thumbs up if you’re good” and @crising7 does exactly that 👍🏻@Utah_Football @Big12Conference pic.twitter.com/0yBT9sZmrM
— Andrea Urban (@AndreaUrbanTV) September 7, 2024
Rising scrambled and released the ball just before being driven out of bounds and was shoved into the water coolers on the Baylor sideline with 1:55 left in the second quarter and went to the locker room for X-rays.
Backup quarterback Isaac Wilson led the Utes' offense after halftime for a second straight game.
Micah Bernard rushed for 118 yards to lead Utah (2-0).
Dequan Finn threw for 115 yards and a touchdown in his second start for Baylor (1-1). Finn struggled against Utah's defense, losing a fumble and getting sacked three times.
Utah controlled play on both sides of the ball in the first half.
The Utes got on the board midway through the first quarter when Money Parks caught a short pass and turned it into a 28-yard reverse. Rising faked a handoff to Dijon Stanley before flipping the ball to Parks, who scored untouched.
Utah extended its lead to 14-0 on a 2-yard catch by Micah Bernard 20 seconds later. Connor O' Toole forced Finn to fumble on a blindside hit and Karene Reid recovered the ball at the Baylor 3, setting up the Utes' second touchdown.
Baylor had minus-10 yards on 10 plays in the first quarter.
Tao Johnson grabbed the ball on a blocked 50-yard field goal attempt and raced 77 yards down the sideline to extend Utah's lead to 23-0 with 5:21 left in the second quarter.
Johnson was the first Utah player to score a touchdown off a blocked field goal since Jay Hill in 1999 against Wyoming.
THE TAKEAWAY
Baylor: The Bears had a nightmarish start on
offense and never fully recovered. Baylor did not gain a first down until midway through the second quarter and totaled 48 yards by halftime.
Utah: Another dominant performance for the Utes came at a price. Rising suffered an apparent injury to his throwing hand and an extended absence could affect the trajectory of Utah's season.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Utah should move into the top 10 in the next AP Poll on Sunday following the victory.
UP NEXT
Baylor: Hosts Air Force on Saturday.
Utah: At Utah State on Saturday.
