With Utah starting QB Cam Rising out after hurting his hand before the half in last week’s win over Baylor, back-up Freshman signal caller Isaac Wilson stepped up in his first career start and connected on 60% of his 33 attempts for 239 yards, 3 TD’s, and 1 interception in a 38-21 win on the road. On the ground the Utes rushed 41 times for 221 yards and 1 TD by Senior RB Micah Bernard who led the way along with Freshman RB Mike Mitchell for a combined 198 yards on 31 carries. Senior Place Kicker Cole Becker was a perfect 3-for-3 on both extra points and field goals with his last being the final 3 points Utah would score in their 38-21 victory.
After an ineffective and sloppy start by both teams—four punts and one interception—Utah would take the early lead on a Cole Becker field goal to go up 3-0 with less than two minutes left in the 1st Qtr. Keyed by a healthy return after the punt, the Aggies came back 4 plays and 77 yards later to score on a Bryson Barnes 20 yard TD pass to Senior TE Broc Lane to go up 7-3 with time expiring in the period.
If the name Bryson Barnes sounds familiar, the Junior QB was a back-up to Utah’s Cam Rising last year before entering the portal and transferring to his current home. After USC’s devastating road loss to No. 12 Notre Dame last year they came home to host No. 14 Utah. Starting QB Bryson Barnes was in for Rising who was out for the year due to an injury suffered during the bowl season. Utah scored first but the game was tied at the half. After that Utah stayed in control and ahead while the Trojans kept inching up until Caleb Williams ran it into the end zone with less than two minutes left in the game to put the Trojans up 32-31. Barnes would get the Utes all the way down to the 21 yard line where Cole Becker would kick a game winning field goal with time expiring and breaking the heart of Trojan fans who, after all their high expectations, had to come to the realization that after back-to-back losses against ranked opponents the season that they had hoped for wouldn’t be. But, I digress . . .
After holding Utah to a three-and-out, the Aggies would score again on another Bryson Barnes TD throw—this one to Junior WR Jack Hestera to go up 14-3. But seven plays and 76 yards later, sitting 2nd and goal at the Utah State 11 yard line, Wilson would connect in the end zone with Senior WR Money Parks to make it 14-10 early in the 2nd Qtr. After having their 35 yard field goal blocked by Utah on their next possession and then getting the ball back on downs, Barnes would throw an interception at mid-field four plays into their next drive which led to another Utah TD five plays later on an Isaac Wilson pass to 6’ 8” Senior TE Caleb Lohner to go up 17-14 at the break.
Utah State would only score once more the rest of the way with Utah putting up 21 points on the board in the 2nd half to stay undefeated. They’ll stay on the road to take on their toughest competition of the season and second Big-12 opponent in No. 13 Oklahoma State this coming Saturday.