With the best conference record determining the two teams to face off on December 1st in Allegiant Stadium for the PAC-12 Conference Championship, if that game were to be played this next weekend it would be the USC Trojans facing the Washington Huskies—both currently undefeated in conference. Things were looking similar for Utah about this time last year having already lost to UCLA. But, by the end of the season it was Utah that got that second spot and went on to win their 2nd championship in a row. Right now Oregon State is in the third spot with the Utes tied with the Ducks for fourth. That said, every one of those teams—including the two leaders—have games that could be lost. So like they say, “it ain’t over till the fat lady sings.” And this past weekend, as they have every weekend since the season began except that trip to Corvallis, the Utes have been able to survive without their starting QB, Cam Rising, hurt in the Rose Bowl back in January–nine months ago, about exactly how long it takes to rehab an ACL tear which is what pretty much everyone outside the team was under the impression he was suffering from.
As I looked over their schedule I was thinking that they might get him back just in time for their upcoming back-to-back games against USC and Oregon before having to go on the road to Husky stadium. That’s a tough enough schedule with your starting QB, but information that was recently provided by Rising himself makes it pretty clear that any thoughts they might be having in Salt Lake for a three-peat will take divine intervention to make happen. Early this month Rising, in an interview on a local radio station, had this to say about his injury; “I wasn’t really expecting to do this, but I just want to let everybody know I didn’t just tear my ACL. I tore my meniscus, MPFL, and MCL. It was a big surgery and it’s not an easy comeback. I’ve been working my tail off.” Kyler Murray, NFL QB for Arizona, had a similar injury that occurred a few weeks prior to Rising’s and has yet to return to the practice field. As though having your starting QB out isn’t enough Utah has eight other injured players, five out for the season, two out indefinitely, and one questionable for this coming Saturday.
Regarding their game against Cal last weekend it was QB Bryson Barnes’ turn in the barrel after Nate Johnson’s rough outing up in Corvallis Week-5. As a game manager Barnes did an efficient job connecting on 15-of-21, 70% of his throws, for 128 yards without throwing a pick while also rushing 8 times for 50 yards and a TD. On the ground Utah’s Sophomore Safety Sione Vaki and RB Ja’Quinden Jackson combined for 37 carries, 254 yards, and three more TD’s. With the stout Ute run defense holding Cal to just 66 yards rushing on 24 attempts–with none of those making it into the end zone–the two TD’s by the Golden Bear’s starting QB, Fernando Mendoza, weren’t nearly enough in a 34-14 loss to Utah in Salt Lake.
Mendoza connected on 10-of-17 for 149 yards, 2 TD’s and 1 interception while Ben Finley entered the game in place of Mendoza early in the 4th to connect on 5-of-14 for 39 yards. Utah out-paced the Golden Bears in 1st Downs, 21-16; total yards of offense, 445-to-254 including over 250 more rushing yards; all the while completing almost 60% of their 3rd down attempts, hanging onto to the ball for almost a quarter’s extra time-of-possession in addition to recording five sacks and six tackles for loss. So yeah, head coach Kyle Whittingham’s got a lot to deal with regarding the injuries but make no mistake about it, the next Ute up in that program knows how to play football.
Considering that Cal’s head coach Justin Wilcox is in his 7th year I was a bit surprised to read this comment after the game: “We need to get bigger and stronger,” California coach Justin Wilcox said. “They moved us off the ball on defense. We had a hard time blocking them one-on-one. Blocking, tackling, strength, size, and all that. That’s why I think the rushing stats look like they did.” Needing to get bigger and stronger is something that head coach Jonathan Smith figured out in Year 1 over at Oregon State and proceeded to take care of over the next few years in building a team that now sits at No. 12 on this week’s AP Top-25, just one spot below Alabama. After finishing 4-8 in 2022, their third consecutive losing season, Wilcox fired his offensive coordinator and line coach. I have to wonder if those were the guys responsible for recruiting undersized linemen—maybe—just saying. Cal gets a week off while Utah heads to the Coliseum to take on a USC team that probably can’t wait to show the college football world that they’re not done by any stretch. With one conference loss already it’s a game that Utah has to win.