As the month of September comes to an end, Big 12 action is full swing across the conference. While every game is important, there was one game in particular that made national headlines which was Arizona taking on Utah.
The Wildcats are coming of a bye week after getting blown out by Kansas State the week before. Meanwhile, the Utes are fresh off a big win against Oklahoma State down in Stillwater. These two schools are quite familiar with one another going back to their days in Pac-12. But this isn’t Pac-12 after dark anymore, it’s Big 12 after dark and here are my three takeaways on Arizona’s 23-10 win over Utah.
Arizona Bounced Back
The last time we saw this Arizona team, they were in Manhattan, Kansas getting beat by 24 against Kansas State. But we didn’t see that team in Salt Lake City on Saturday night.
Offensively, Arizona out rushed Utah 161 to 84 which is something I didn’t see coming. The Wildcats were physical up front and there were times where they got away from the run game even when it was working. As for Noah Fifita, he made some throws that very few quarterbacks in college football can make. In fact, he reminded me a little of Patrick Mahomes with the way he was able to move around and drop an absolute dime down the field.
While I liked some of the things the offense was able to do, the defense is what I came away impressed with. Arizona was all over Utah from start to finish. They held Utah in check on the ground and their secondary had eight pass breakups on the night. When their backs were against the wall, they came through time and time again as they didn’t allow Utah to convert a single one of their four fourth down attempts. It was a big win for this team after getting rocked just two weeks ago.
Utah Isn’t Unbeatable
Coming into the season, I thought Utah was the clear-cut favorite to win the Big 12. They were the preseason favorites and rightfully so. Their defense was elite and was claimed to be one of the best in the country while their offense with Cam Rising back was going to be improved.
Well, with Cam Rising out, this offense looks a lot different. I knew it would be worse, but I didn’t think it would be as bad as it has been at times. They struggled to establish any sort of running game which put even more pressure on Isaac Wilson. But what really concerned me was their defense against Arizona. They allowed the Wildcats to rush for over 160 yards and gave up a few too many big plays on key downs. I know the offense will get better when Rising gets back but this team is not head and shoulders better than everyone else in the Big 12 like I thought they would be.
Utah Needs Cam Rising Back
Three weeks ago, Utah quarterback Cam Rising got injured against Baylor. Cam got hurt when he was pushed into the coolers on the sideline, and he ended up inuring his throwing hand. The following week, Isaac Wilson got the start for the Utes against in-state rival Utah State. While Utah ended up winning the game, by no means did he play well.
Wilson got the start once again last weekend against Oklahoma State on the road as Cam was ruled out right before the game. And just like the week before, it wasn’t pretty, but he managed to get the job done.
Now for the third week in a row, Cam Rising is out, and Isaac Wilson is in. While he may have gotten away with some mistakes against Utah State and Oklahoma State, that wasn’t the case against Arizona. Nobody is expecting Wilson to be a hero, but what Utah needs is a solid game manager, and I am not sure if Isaac Wilson can do that at this point in his career. This Utah team has Big 12 championship aspirations, and I just don’t see them getting to Arlington without Cam Rising. Utah needs him back as fast as possible.
