Can Utah slow down Baylor’s dual-threat QB?

Nine years ago, Baylor and Utah announced a home-and-home football series.
How times have changed since then.
Back in the spring of 2015, when the series was agreed to, Utah was in its third year of Pac-12 Conference membership and starting to find its footing in the Power Five league after posting a 9-4 record in 2014. Baylor, meanwhile, was coming off of back-to-back 11-win seasons and back-to-back Big 12 championships.
Now, after the collapse of the Pac-12, the two teams are both in the Big 12.
When the Utes officially accepted their invite to the Big 12 in August of last year, athletic director Mark Harlan had an issue on his hands. Two of the three teams on Utah’s nonconference schedule — Baylor and BYU — were now conference-mates. Football schedules fill up fast, with schools booking nonleague games out a decade or more, so Harlan had to scramble to make sure Utah had a full slate of games.
The Big 12 definitely wanted the 2024 edition of the Utah-BYU rivalry — which was on the schedule as a nonconference contest — to be a conference affair. That left Utah with an opening, which the Utes filled by agreeing to a two-and-one series with Utah State (two home games, one away game). The Utes are set to head north to Maverik Stadium this fall for the first time since 2012.
Because of how tough it would have been to find two nonleague opponents in less than a year, Utah and Baylor elected to keep the matchup as a nonconference game, which means the Utes effectively play 10 Big 12 games this season — though only nine count for the conference standings.
“It is a unique situation,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. “… Who knew that things would shape up as they have?”
A season ago, the Bears and Utes met for the first time in sweltering Waco, Texas, where field conditions reached 130 degrees.
Both offenses, which ended the year ranked near the bottom of FBS, sputtered and couldn’t get going until Nate Johnson led the Utes on a 15-play, 88-yard drive to tie the game with two minutes remaining. After a Cole Bishop interception on the next Baylor possession, Jaylon Glover scored the go-ahead touchdown and Utah escaped Waco with a 20-13 win.
While nothing is guaranteed in sports, Saturday’s return game at Rice-Eccles Stadium game should be markedly different than last year’s offensive slog.
Both teams have different quarterbacks than the last time they met — the return of Cam Rising for Utah and new transfer quarterback Dequan Finn for Baylor.
The two signal-callers have a few things in common. Both are transfer quarterbacks (Rising transferred from Texas ahead of the 2019 season and Finn transferred from Toledo ahead of the 2024 season), both are veterans (Rising’s first year was in 2018, while Finn’s first season was in 2019), and both like to use their legs to their advantage.
Utah has had issues corralling dual-threat quarterbacks in the past — UCLA’s Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Florida’s Anthony Richardson and USC’s Caleb Williams (though the Utes did better against Williams in their last two matchups) come to mind.
“Hit ‘em, hard, when they run the ball,” Utah defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley joked when asked what the Utes need to do to defend a running quarterback. “You got to have eyes on them. So if you’re going to add a guy in the box, you add a guy in the box, or you create pressure to fool the QB, there’s different things that you can do. Bottom line, it’s playing assignment-sound, disciplined football.”
Finn thus far looks to be an improvement over Blake Shapen, and did well enough in the Bears’ 45-3 opening win over Tarleton State. The former MAC Player of the Year threw for 192 yards and two touchdowns on 64% accuracy, but had two interceptions. Finn also had a 39-yard touchdown run on the first drive of the game, showcasing his dual-threat ability.
After last year’s woes, Baylor brought in a new offensive coordinator to replace Jeff Grimes, and it’s a familiar name for Scalley — former Cal OC Jake Spavital.
Spavital brings an up-tempo offense to Baylor.
“They’re a tempo team that you’ve got to get off schedule,” Scalley said.
“They get lined up quick, they’re assignment-sound. Their technique is really good, their wide receivers do a great job of getting hands on them, blocking. They’re physical. For us, it’s matching that tempo, we’re trying to match that tempo in practice, make sure we’re getting lined up quick, that we’re playing assignment-sound.”
Finn has plenty of weapons to throw to, including Biletnikoff Award watch list member Ashtyn Hawkins, Ketron Jackson Jr. and Monaray Baldwin.
The question mark for the Bears after their first game is up front with a revamped offensive line who didn’t wow against Tarleton State and who will be facing a Utah front that prides itself on its physicality. They’ll block for running back Richard Reese, who started his season on the right foot with 78 rushing yards on Saturday.
Defensively, the Bears needed a shakeup after a 3-9 season last season, and head coach Dave Aranda, who was the defensive coordinator for LSU’s 2019 national championship season, took over defensive play-calling duties this season.
So far, so good for Aranda’s defense, which is betting on the growth of their players after last season and didn’t bring in a ton of transfer starters. The Bears held Tarleton State to just 181 yards, but the competition goes up several notches against Rising and the Utes.
Matt Jones and Keaton Thomas, who had a pick six last Saturday, are a formidable duo at linebacker, and the No. 1 goal for Baylor’s defense is going to be to try and get Rising out of the pocket early and often. Whittingham gave the Utes’ offensive line a “B+” grade against Southern Utah, and Utah needs a little more from its tackles against Baylor, both to protect Rising and also to get the run game going, which is what Whittingham wants to see on Saturday.
While Baylor should take a step forward this season, it’s still going to be a big task for the 14.5-point underdog to upset the Utes at home on Saturday.