No. 12 Utah and Baylor scheduled their showdown 8 years ago. It turns out to be a Big 12 preview

By STEPHEN HAWKINS
AP Sports Writer

WACO, Texas (AP) — There was no way to know when 12th-ranked Utah’s first-ever game against Baylor was scheduled eight years ago that it would match future conference foes.

Even with some coincidental long-term scheduling that has Utah (1-0) playing Saturday on the banks of the Brazos River in the heart of Texas after the latest moves in conference realignment picked apart the Pac-12 in a matter of recent weeks, coach Kyle Whittingham isn’t viewing this as a Big 12 preview trip.

“It hasn’t even entered into my thoughts process, and hopefully not for the guys too,” Whittingham said. “It is just another game that we have to get ready for. Nothing really outside of that besides getting ready for the Baylor Bears.”

The Utes are among four Pac-12 teams that will move to the Big 12 next season. Their focus now remains on the final Pac-12 season, when they would like to win a third consecutive conference championship game and maybe do much more in Whittingham’s 19th season.

While Baylor (0-1) was upset at home, all 12 Pac-12 teams won their season openers. The Utes won 24-11 over Florida, which had beaten them to open 2022.

“It was a good win for our program. We certainly played a lot better on defense than we did in the previous year,” Whittingham said. “We went from allowing 280-plus yards rushing last year to 13 in this game, and missing 28 tackles to four. It was just a night and day difference.”

UPS AND DOWNS

Baylor, the Big 12 champion only two seasons ago, is mired in a five-game losing streak. The Bears were a nearly four-touchdown favorite at home when they lost their opener 42-31 to Texas State, and starting quarterback Blake Shapen sustained an MCL injury in the second half that will have him out at least 2-3 weeks.

“I think staff-wise … you’re down in a valley, you climb up a mountain only to find out at the start of the season that there’s more mountains. And you’re kind of hoping that you’re kind of reaching a peak and you’re kind of taking off,” fourth-year Bears coach Dave Aranda said. “For that not to be the case is, it’s one of the things with this sport, much like life. … So, think having that talk with them on hey, this, this is what it is. What were our faults in it? What can we improve? A lot of those talks, that’s wha it’s been the last few days.”

DIFFERENT QB SITUTATIONS

The Utes could have Cam Rising available Saturday after their starting quarterback missed the opener. He has been rehabilitating the torn ACL he suffered January in the Rose Bowl and was limited in August practices before being cleared to resume full practices this week.

What was still unclear is if Rising would play or if Utah would be cautious only eight months after the injury and two weeks before the Pac-12 opener. That leaves Baylor having to prepare for three quarterbacks.

“They have the ability with all three of them to run the quarterback,” Aranda said.

In the opener against Florida, the Utes used junior passer Bryson Barnes and redshirt freshman Nate Johnson in wildcat-like sets. Barnes completed 12 of 18 passes for 159 yards, with a 70-yard touchdown to Money Parks on their first offensive snap, while Johnson ran for 45 yards and a TD on six carries.

Transfer quarterback Sawyer Robertson is set for his first college start in place of Shapen. Robertson didn’t start any of the six games he played at Mississippi State the past two seasons. He was 6-of-12 passing for 113 yards against Texas State, but the final two Bears possessions ended with an interception and a fumble.

GREEN LINE

All five starting offensive linemen for Baylor in the season opener made their first starts for the school. For three of them, it was their first start anywhere. The Bears were playing from behind throughout, which has something to do with them only rushing for 108 yards. But they averaged only 3.4 yards per carry and their quarterbacks got sacked three times. Utah had five sacks against Florida.

EXTRA POINTS

Whittingham is in his 19th season, making him the Pac-12’s longest-tenured coach, and the second-longest tenured coach at the same FBS school behind Kirk Ferentz, who is in his 25th season at Iowa. … Utah is 30-4 in regular-season, non-conference games since joining the Pac-12 in 2011. … Baylor is playing the second of four consecutive home games to open the season, among a school-record eight overall.

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