It was the start of Big 12 Conference play on Saturday in Stillwater between the Oklahoma State Cowboys and Utah Utes. For Utah, it was their first-ever conference game in the Big 12. Both teams entered the game undefeated and looking to establish themselves as the team to beat in the Big 12 Conference.
But with the on-field temperatures over 100 degrees in Stillwater on Saturday, it was the Utes opening a three-score lead, before OSU made a late comeback, but ultimately fell short in a 22-19 Utah win. Here are the top three takeaways on the game.
Isaac Wilson’s Coming Out Party
All week long, there were expectations that Utah quarterback Cam Rising was going to play, or at least give it a go against the Oklahoma State Cowboys. That didn’t end up happening, as the Utes turned to Isaac Wilson, after Rising suffered a hand injury two weeks ago vs. Baylor.
Well, in one of the toughest environments for a college football true freshman, Isaac Wilson handled himself like a seasoned veteran. Wilson did not get rattled after throwing an interception on his second drive of the game. He turned around and let the Utes on a 12-play, 62-yard field goal drive to tie the game at three. That drive was followed up by a touchdown drive to put Utah up 10-3. His second-half touchdown to Brant Kuithe was a thing of beauty as well, which put the Utes up 22-3 in the fourth quarter.
That Utah Defense
Yes, Oklahoma State scored a couple of late touchdowns to keep it interesting, but Utah’s defense dominated for much of the afternoon After an opening-drive field goal for the Cowboys, Oklahoma State’s offense went: three-and-out, three-and-out, missed field goal and then interception.
But the Cowboys defense kept them in the game, down only 10-3 at halftime. However, despite Mike Gundy pulling Alan Bowman and turning to Garrett Rangel, the offense wasn’t any more efficient for the Cowboys. In fact, it was arguably worse. Rangel got four drives under his belt to start the second half, which resulted in a total of 32 yards, before Gundy turned back to Bowman. Bowman went three-and-out, interception, and then put together back-to-back touchdown drives to give Oklahoma State a chance late in the game.
Utah held Oklahoma State’s star running back Ollie Gordon to only 42 rushing yards on 11 carries.
We knew Utah’s defense was going to wreck defensive havoc in the Big 12, but we saw just how tough this unit is going to be for teams to go up against this season. And this performance came on the road in one of the tougher places to play in the Big 12, in blazing hot temperatures that aren’t typical of Salt Lake City.
Big 12 Football Implications
As we predicted before the season, this game would go a long way to determining the early stages of the Big 12 Championship race. And with both teams ranked in the Top 15 heading into this match up, they both still have expectations of making it to Arlington. And now, it’s Utah who has the upper hand after getting this huge road win.
Utah won its first road game vs AP Top 15 opponent since 2018 and it could ultimately go a long way in determining whether or not this team ends up playing for a Big 12 Title. But there’s no doubt they have a leg up moving forward, and they are entering a softer part of their schedule with Arizona, Arizona State, TCU and Houston on deck.
Meantime, Oklahoma State hits the road for Manhattan and needs to win a brutally tough road game to avoid dropping to 0-2 in Big 12 play.
