No Cam Rising, no problem for the Utah Utes as they came away with the close 22-19 victory over the Oklahoma State Cowboys on Saturday with quarterback Isaac Wilson at the helm.
Despite the offense turning the ball over three times in the first half, it was the Utes’ bounceback ability while limiting a Cowboys offense that had rolled so well off the talents of star rusher Ollie Gordon II that ultimately won them the game.
The Utes defense took care of business, allowing Oklahoma State just 285 yards of total offense with eight forced punts.
Here’s a look into four things we took away from the contest for both sides.
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1. Isaac Wilson gets the win in place of Cam Rising
The Utah fan base was anxious about the possibility of starting Isaac Wilson for just the second time, but he got the job done. Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham described the decision to start Wilson over Cam Rising, who had suffered a wrist injury, as a “game-time decision” in the most literal sense.
And it was, as Whittingham explained that the decision was made in the locker room at the stadium just ahead of the game that Wilson would give the team the best chance at victory. As would be expected, he was not perfect, but did show signs for optimism. That’s important, considering there’s no concrete timetable on when Rising will return to action.
“I like that he just kept hanging in there and never got down on himself. Threw a couple of picks. Didn’t flinch. You saw his ability to run. He ripped off that 40- or 50-yard run. That was huge at that point in time. Dipped his shoulder and made another tough run down in the red zone that got us a first down. He’s just a competitor.”
Utah’s Kyle Whittingham on Isaac Wilson
Wilson finished the game 17-for-29 with 207 passing yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions.
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2. Utah’s run game thrives
The Utes offense rolled while its defense limited the Cowboys from being a multi-dimensional team on that side of the ball. Utah posted 456 yards of total offense on Saturday, and it was a nearly perfect balance by the numbers with 207 yards through the air and 249 yards on the ground by way of 52 carries.
Running back Micah Bernard continued to be a force, posting his third consecutive performance in which he crossed the century-mark. In this one, he nearly did that twice over, finishing out the game with 182 rushing yards on 25 carries.
Bernard has come in clutch on key plays throughout the season and that continued to be the case in this contest as he broke free on a long rush of 62 yards in the second half to do more than just move the chains for the Utes.
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3. RB Ollie Gordon II, Oklahoma State ground game stifled
No defense this season has seemed to find an answer in stopping Gordon until now. But Utah had an answer for OSU’s entire run game, limiting the Cowboys to a grand total of 48 rushing yards, meaning the Utes outgained them in that category by over 100 yards. That’s something hardly anyone drew up, especially given the circumstances.
Gordon carried the ball 11 times for 42 yards with a long rush of 18 yards. He originally came into the game totaling 216 rushing yards on 62 carries with four touchdowns.
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4. Mike Gundy makes a questionable decision, and it doesn’t pay dividends
Some may not like Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy’s decision to bench starting quarterback Alan Bowman during the game, sending out Garret Rangel instead. The move came after Bowman had connected on just 8 of his 22 passing attempts for 89 yards and an interception. That much is understandable, given the poor performance the signal-caller had put on to that point.
But it did seem a bit abrupt after Bowman had led the team to an undefeated record and had performed quite well with two games in which he had a completion percentage exceeding 70%. It didn’t pay off, either, as Rangel completed three of his 11 passing attempts for 31 yards. It wasn’t long until Gundy called Bowman back into the game.
He went on to finish the game 16-for-33 passing for 206 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Gundy defended his decision after the game, insinuating Bowman needed a “relief pitcher” to calm him down.
“Sometimes, you got to get a guy out and calm him down a little bit. I just felt like we weren’t getting good play and we needed a relief pitcher. Get somebody else in there. And Garret had a tough day. So, you switch back.”
Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy on benching Alan Bowman
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