How Utah topped Oklahoma State football without star QB Cameron Rising to open Big 12 play

STILLWATER — As Utah trotted into the locker room, just minutes away from its Big 12 road opener against Oklahoma State, head coach Kyle Whittingham held a conference.

It was about quarterback Cameron Rising, who was a game-time decision due to a finger injury on his throwing hand. The plan was for the two-time All-Pac-12 senior to play on Saturday, but that changed.

Rising didn’t progress as much as Utah thought he would throughout the week. And although he participated in pregame warmups with a glove on his hand, he fluttered the ball on numerous passes. That was enough for Whittingham, who opted to start true freshman quarterback Isaac Wilson instead for the top-25 matchup.

“It was literally a game-time decision,” Whittingham said. “We decided who gave us the best chance to win was Isaac, and Cam agreed. So, that’s the direction that we went.”

The decision worked out.

Despite being without its starting quarterback in one of college football’s toughest road environments, No. 10-ranked Utah walked out of Boone Pickens Stadium on Saturday with a 22-19 win over No. 15 OSU.

More: Oklahoma State football rallies, falls short vs Utah for first loss | 5 takeaways

Utah’s Isaac Wilson (11) gets by Oklahoma State’s Iman Oates (99) in the second half of the college football between the Oklahoma State University Cowboys and the Utah Utes at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Okla., Saturday, Sept., 21, 2024.

In what only marked his second career start, Wilson completed 17 of his 29 passes (58.6%) for 207 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. And even though OSU scored 16 unanswered points in the final six minutes to make it interesting, Utah controlled the game for most of the afternoon.

It was a statement victory by the Big 12 newcomer, which improved to 4-0 on the season.

“We made that a lot more dramatic than we needed…


Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/utah-topped-oklahoma-state-football-103038738.html

Author : The Oklahoman

Publish date : 2024-09-23 10:30:38

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