Eli Lederman, ESPN Staff Writer
STILLWATER, Okla. — With veteran quarterback Cam Rising sidelined for a second straight week, No. 12 Utah turned to backup quarterback Isaac Wilson at Boone Pickens Stadium on Saturday then leaned on the true freshman passer to land a press release victory in this system's inaugural Big 12 sport.
In his second profession begin, Wilson went 17-of-29 for 207 yards with a landing and two interceptions, delivering a sequence of key moments and lifting the Utes in a 22-19 win over No. 14 Oklahoma State to turn into the primary true freshman quarterback starter to beat an AP Top 25 opponent in program historical past.
“I like that he just kept hanging in there and never got down on himself,” stated Utah coach Kyle Whittingham. “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.”
Ahead of some of the anticipated video games on the 2024 Big 12 schedule, ESPN reported Saturday that Rising could be a game-time resolution towards Oklahoma State. The seventh-year passer has not performed since injuring his throwing hand towards Baylor on Sept. 7. Wilson made his first profession begin towards Utah State in Week 3, finishing 20 of his 33 passes for 239 yards and three touchdowns in Rising's place throughout a 38-21 street victory.
Whittingham informed reporters that the 2 quarterbacks cut up observe reps throughout Utah's Week 3 preparation for Oklahoma State. On Saturday, Rising wore a protecting glove on his throwing hand and took starter's reps in pregame warmups earlier than the Utes made the choice to go along with Wilson in a top-15 matchup of Big 12 College Football Playoff hopefuls.
“When he's ready, he'll be ready,” Whittingham stated of Rising's standing. “That's all I can say. We were hoping he'd be ready this week.”
“It was literally a game-time decision,” Whittingham continued. “Not game-day; it was game-time. We came into the locker room after all the warmups, had a little conference and decided that the guy who gave us the best chance to win was Isaac. Cam agreed. That's what we did, and that's the direction we went.”
Whittingham stated Utah was “without question” the extra bodily workforce Saturday after the Utes outgained Oklahoma State 249-48 on the bottom and held onto the soccer for 42:26 of sport time. Sixth-year operating again Micah Bernard led the bottom assault, totaling a career-high 182 yards to turn into the primary Utah rusher to eclipse 150 yards since Zack Moss gained 160 yards towards Stanford in 2018.
But the play of Wilson, the brother of former BYU and present Denver Broncos quarterback Zach Wilson, was integral to a win that additional cemented the Utes as early Big 12 favorites this fall.
A Utah highschool state champion and ESPN's Thirteenth-ranked pocket passer in the 2024 class, Isaac Wilson started his second profession begin for the Utes with a pair of incompletions earlier than Oklahoma State security Trey Rucker intercepted Wilson's first downfield throw of the day to finish Utah's second offensive sequence.
The shaky begin provided a window into Wilson's poise and maturity. The 6-foot-2, 202-pound signal-caller adopted the interception with completions on 11 of his subsequent 14 passes, together with 5 throws of 15-plus yards. Wilson's assured fourth-quarter learn was the distinction on a 45-yard landing throw to tight finish Brant Kuithe on what proved to be the decisive rating earlier than the Utes fended off a late Oklahoma State comeback bid.
But Wilson's finest moments got here when the younger passer used his legs. Facing fourth-and-short in the second quarter, Wilson barreled by means of Cowboys cornerback Korie Black, maintaining alive an 11-play, 62-yard landing drive that ate 6:28 of sport clock.
Wilson confirmed off his pace minutes after halftime when he left the pocket and burst past the Oklahoma State protection for a 48-yard run. He turned to his legs once more for a fourth-down conversion in the fourth quarter, one other in a sequence of essential performs Wilson executed on a day Utah transformed on 4 of its 5 fourth-down makes an attempt to topple its first top-15 opponent since 2018.
“The team's trusting me, so I have to go make a play,” Wilson stated when requested the place he drew his confidence in stress conditions. “They were giving us zero coverage pretty much the whole game. No one was man up on me. So, when I broke that pocket, I knew it was going to be there.”
Utah's easy transition at quarterback was a stark distinction to the quarterbacking debacle that unfolded on the other sideline Saturday.
Seventh-year Oklahoma State QB Alan Bowman opened with completions on 4 of his first 10 throws then accomplished simply two of his subsequent 12 makes an attempt earlier than halftime, ending the primary half 8-of-22 for 89 yards and an interception. With the Cowboys trailing 10-3 on the break, coach Mike Gundy opened the second half with redshirt sophomore quarterback Garret Rangel underneath heart.
Across the 4 sequence Rangel oversaw, the Cowboys gained 32 yards and one first down on 15 performs whereas Utah constructed a 22-3 benefit throughout the early phases of the fourth quarter. Bowman later reentered the sport with 9:26 remaining and was intercepted on his second sequence earlier than finishing his ultimate eight passes with a pair of touchdowns as Oklahoma State mounted a late comeback, gaining 127 yards on its ultimate two offensive drives.
The Cowboys' offense that exploded in the closing phases solely made the unit that struggled so mightily for the preliminary 55 minutes all of the extra perplexing. Despite Bowman's inconsistent efficiency and momentary benching, Gundy dedicated to the veteran passer as Oklahoma State's starter shifting ahead because the Cowboys stare down a Week 5 journey to No. 13 Kansas State.
“Sometimes, you got to get a guy out and calm him down a little bit,” Gundy stated. “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.”
