No. 13 Utah at Baylor
Averaging 278 yards on the ground and 199 yards in the air, Utah is second only to the Big-12 Conference leader Texas Tech in average points per game at 41.1 and in points allowed at 15.6. And if Baylor wasn’t a believer coming into the game I’m sure they were a believer by the time is was over. Once Utah got going it was pedal to the metal through the first half and then an all out sprint to the finish. With Baylor getting the ball to start the game and punting after four plays on their first possession, missing a field goal on their second, and then punting again on their third—and Utah not doing much better—there was only 2:31 left in the first quarter when the first points finally hit the board via a 25 yard TD pass from Utah Junior QB Devon Dampier to Senior TE Dallen Bentley to go up 7-0. On Baylor’s fourth possession of the opening quarter Utah’s Junior CB Elijah Davis would intercept the Bears QB Sawyer Robertson at the Utah 35 yard line and run it back 65 yards to the house to take a 14-0 lead with time running out in the first.
Baylor finally got their offense untracked to start the 2nd Qtr and found the end zone on an 8 play 75 yard drive and 1 yard TD pass from Robertson to Senior WR Josh Cameron to make it a 14-7 game. Just over a minute later on three consecutive runs including one for 67 yards and a TD by Freshman QB Byrd Ficklin the Utes would stretch that lead back to fourteen points, 21-7. With Baylor hit for back-to-back penalties on their next possession Utah would get the ball again just over a minute later but couldn’t capitalize and were held to a three-and-out. The Bears would pick up three more points on a drive that started off with a 64 yard pass completion to ten yards inside the Utah Red Zone. But three plays later and sitting 4th and goal at the Utah 6 yard line with a whole second half yet to play Baylor took the conservative route and kicked a 23 yard field goal to make it a 21-10 game. Starting at their own 25 yard line Dampier would complete an 11 yard pass to Freshman TE JJ Buchanan to their own 36 yard line where, on their second play, he would hand the ball off to Sophomore RB Wayshawn Parker who took it 64 yards to the house to give Utah a 28-10 lead. With just over 20 seconds left in the half and starting at their own 45 yard line Robertson would complete a 26 yard pass out of the shotgun to Senior WR Ashtyn Hawkins down to the Utah 29 yard line and then a TD pass to Josh Cameron—his second of the day—making it a 28-17 game at the half.
With Baylor adding a field goal in the 3rd Qtr and Utah another TD on an 11 yard run and 74 yard TD run from Freshman QB Byrd Ficklin, the Utes would go into the 4th Qtr up 35-20. But, if there was a sort of back-and-forth going on it certainly stopped there with Utah’s back-to-back-to back TD’s aided by a Baylor interception on their first possession of the period. The Bears would get another TD of their own on their second possession but by then they were down 49-28 with the Utes headed to the end zone again right after to give them an impressive 55-28 victory and third place in the Big-12 right behind No. 6 Texas Tech and No. 12 BYU.
For Utah Junior QB Devon Dampier didn’t throw a lot, just 6-of-13 for 80 yards, but he did connect for two TD’s—1 each to Senior TE Dallen Bentley and Sophomore RB Wayshawn Parker—while also rushing 8 times for 23 yards. Freshman QB Byrd Ficklin and Sophomore RB Wayshawn Parker combined for 295 rushing yards and 3 TD’s on 21 carries to lead the Utah running attack. Senior RB Naquari Rogers would kick in another two TD’s towards a team total of 380 yards on the ground and 5 TD’s on 43 carries—an 8.8 yard average per rushing attempt. For Baylor, Senior QB Sawyer Robertson connected on 29-of-58 for 430 yards, 3 TD’s—2 going to Senior WR’s Josh Cameron and Kole Wilson—along with 2 interceptions. Sophomore RB Bryson Washington led their running attack with 97 of the team’s 133 yards on 14 carries. Utah heads back home to host Kansas State this coming Saturday.
Arizona at No. 25 Cincinnati
Cincinnati had the ball to start the game but threw an interception on their first play from scrimmage setting the Wildcats up just one yard outside the Bearcats red zone to start their possession. Two plays later they were in the end zone on a 27 yard TD run by Senior RB Ismail Mahdi to take a 7-0 lead just one minute into the game. Cincinnati would tie the score and then go ahead 14-7 on back-to-back TD’s on either side of an Arizona four-and-out. The Wildcats would miss a field goal opportunity on their next possession and then hold Cincinnati to a three-and-out to end the 1st Qtr. Arizona would have their 34 yard field goal to start the second quarter blocked but after intercepting the Bearcats their Place Kicker Michael Salgado-Medina would connect on one from 24 yards out to make it a 14-10 game at the break.
Getting the ball to start the second half, Arizona would score on their first two possessions on either side of holding Cincinnati to a three-and-out. The first a 25 yard field goal by Salgado-Medina and the second, after a 30 yard chunk pass completion by Junior QB Noah Fifita, on a 50 yard TD run by Kendrick Reescano to take a 20-14 lead with a little over five minutes left in the third quarter. The Bearcats would use all of it getting down the field and connecting on a 28 yard field goal by their Senior Place Kicker Stephen Rusnak with time running out to close within three points, 20-17, going into the final period.
The Wildcats would score on their first possession of the 4th Qtr on a 15 yard TD pass from Junior QB Noah Fafita to Freshman WR Gio Richardson at the end of a 9 play 75 yard drive to go up 27-17. A little over four minutes later the Bearcats would follow suit at the end of a 12 play 75 yard drive and 1 yard TD run by Freshman RB Zion Johnson to cut Arizona’s lead back to just three points at 27-24. Five minutes later Salgado-Medina would make his third field goal of the game to give the Wildcats a six point lead, 30-24, with a minute thirty-four left in the game. Three incompletions and an offensive pass interference penalty would end up putting the ball back into Arizona’s hands with just a little over a minute left for them to kill.
For the Wildcats, Junior QB Noah Fafita connected on 23-of-31 for 294 yards, 1 TD to Freshman WR Gio Richardson, and no interceptions. On the ground Junior RB’s Kedrick Reescano and Quincy Craig along with Senior RB Ismail Mahdi combined for 181 yards on 42 carries with Reescano and Mahdi both finding the end zone. For Cincinnati, Junior QB Brendan Sorsby was 15-of-28 for 154 yards, 1 TD to Senior WR Jeff Caldwell, and 2 interceptions while also rushing 9 times for 30 yards and another score. On the ground, Senior RB Tawee Walker carried the ball 12 times for 119 of the team’s 190 yard total with Sorsby and Freshman RB Zion Johnson picking up the two rushing TD’s. Arizona had 10 more first downs, led in total offense 475-to-344, were successful on 3rd down 50% of the time and converted both of their fourth down attempts, had the ball 13 more minutes, had half the penalties and no turnovers. The Wildcats head home to host Baylor this coming Saturday before heading across town the following Friday to take on their in-state rival Sun Devils.
West Virginia at Arizona State
Arizona got the ball to start the game but were held to a three-and-out on both possessions of the first quarter while the Mountaineers were able to get three points up on the board with a 29 yard field by their Senior Place Kicker Kade Hensley to take a 3-0 lead into the second quarter. The Wildcats scored back-to-back TD’s on their next two possessions—including one successful 2-point conversion—on either side of a three-and-out by West Virginia to go up 15-3 halfway through the period. It wouldn’t take long, just 11 seconds, for West Virginia to pick up seven of their own on a 75 yard TD pass from Freshman QB Scotty Fox Jr. to Senior WR Jeff Weimer to make it 15-10. After a punt by either team the Wildcats would find the end zone again at the end of an 8 play 69 yard drive and 33 yard no huddle pass from Jay Sims to Junior RB Raleek Brown to give Arizona a 22-10 lead at the break.
Neither team made any headway in the third quarter with West Virginia having to turn the ball back over at the end of a 13 play drive after failing to convert a 4th and Goal at the Arizona 2 yard line. The Wildcats would follow that up with a fumble nine plays later but then held the Moutaineers to a three and out to end the quarter right where they both started. Taking the ball to start the 4th Qtr Arizona would have their 46 yard field goal attempt blocked. Taking advantage of that opportunity, West Virginia would close to within five points, 22-17, 10 plays later on a 1 yard TD run by Sophomore LB Curtis Jones Jr. Aided by a sack the Mountaineers would force the Sun Devils to punt just four plays into their next possession. Off to a bad start on their next drive West Virginia got called for an offensive holding penalty on their first play and then had their QB sacked making it 3rd and 27 at their own 10 yard line. But that was nothing a 90 yard TD pass from Scotty Fox Jr. to Sophomore RB Cyncir Bowers wouldn’t cure to retake the lead 23-22 with six and a half minutes left to play. The Sun Devils would use more than half of that along with a roughing the passer penalty to make their way down to the West Virginia 31 where their Senior Place Kicker Jesus Gomez would nail a 49 yard field goal to grab the lead back 25-23 with under three minutes to play. In a game that seemed as though whoever had it last was going to win it, Junior DB Keith Abney II made sure that was going to be the Sun Devils when he intercepted Scotty Fox Jr. six plays into the West Virginia drive with just a minute thirty left in the game to preserve the victory.
For Arizona State, Senior QB Jeff Simms connected on 19-of-28 for 207 yards, 3 TD’s to three different receivers, and no interceptions while also leading the running attack with 81 yards on 17 carries. Collectively the Sun Devils rushed 39 times for 123 yards. In the air Sophomore WR Eric Eusebio, Junior RB Raleek Brown, and Senior TE Chamon Metayer hauled in 13 passes for well over half of the 207 yards and a TD each. For West Virginia, Freshman QB Scotty Fox Jr. was 19-of-31 for 2 TD’s—1 to Senior WR Jeff Weimer and the other to Sophomore RB Cyncir Bowers—and 1 interception. On the ground the Mountaineers rushed 39 times for 68 yards with Sophomore LB Curtis Jones Jr. the only one to get into the end zone. Arizona State takes to the road and a lot colder weather in a meeting with Coach Prime and the Colorado Buffaloes this coming Saturday before heading back home to host their cross-town rival Wildcats.