Utah
Can Utah football slow down Baylor QB Dequan Finn in unique nonconference Big 12 game?
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?”
Utah-Baylor game preview
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.

Utah
22-year-old arrested in Utah in connection to Las Vegas double-homicide
LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Officials have identified a 22-year-old man as the suspect in a Las Vegas homicide case that killed two people in a Southern Highlands neighborhood.
Detectives say 22-year-old Ziaire Ham was the suspect in the case. According to officials, Ham was located on Tuesday, March 3, by the Ogden City Police Department and the Utah Highway Patrol.
Ham was taken into custody and booked into the Weber County Jail. Las Vegas authorities said he will be charged with open murder with the use of a deadly weapon and will be extradited back to the valley.
MORE ON FOX5: LVMPD corrections officer arrested on multiple felony charges
The shooting occurred Monday night at the 11000 block of Victoria Medici Street, near Starr Ave and Dean Martin Drive.
According to police, officers were conducting a vehicle stop in the area when they heard gunfire. After searching nearby neighborhoods they found a car with bullet impacts with a woman and a toddler inside suffering from gunshot wounds.
The pair were transported to hospital where they later died. The Clark County Coroner’s Office identified them as Danaijha Robinson, 20, and 1-year-old Nhalani Hiner.
Copyright 2026 KVVU. All rights reserved.
Utah
Utah nonprofit creates events, experiences for disadvantaged children
SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — A simple moment watching a child laugh changed everything for Ivan Gonzalez.
Eight years ago, Gonzalez was working at the Ronald McDonald House when he had an idea to throw a birthday carnival for the kids staying there.
“Let’s do a carnival, birthday carnival for the kids,” he said.
MORE | Pay It Forward
What happened during that event stuck with him.
“There I was watching this kid play whack-a-mole, just having a blast, laughing,” Gonzalez said. “And then I see his mom kind of with happy tears because he’s enjoying himself.”
That moment led to something bigger.
Gonzalez realized the experience shouldn’t stop with just one event or just one group of kids.
“I said, wait, we can do this not just for kids in the hospital,” he said with excitement.
So he started a nonprofit called Best Seat in the House, which creates events and experiences for children who often face difficult circumstances.
“We provide events and experiences for disadvantaged kids,” Gonzalez said.
The organization serves children battling cancer and other medical conditions, refugee children, kids living in poverty, those in foster care and children with special needs.
“These kids grow up too fast,” Gonzalez said.
For Gonzalez, the mission is deeply personal.
“I grew up very poor,” he said.
He remembers the people who stepped in for his family when they needed it most.
“The local church, we weren’t even a part of it,” he described. “My parents couldn’t afford Christmas gifts and I still remember the gifts they gave me. They didn’t even know me.”
Today, he hopes to create that same feeling for other children through his nonprofit.
“Kids live in poverty and they don’t know where the next meal is coming from, let alone going to a play or to a game,” Gonzalez said.
But for Gonzalez, the reward isn’t the events themselves, it’s the joy they create.
“You can give me a billion dollars, all the money in the world,” he says as tears roll down his face. “I won’t trade these opportunitieskids just enjoying life.”
Because of his work giving back, KUTV and Mountain America Credit Union surprised Gonzalez with a Pay it Forward gift to help him continue creating those moments for kids across Utah.
For more information on supporting Best Seat in the House, click here.
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Utah
‘Don’t release him ever. Please.’ Family of slain Utah teen calls for justice at parole hearing
SALT LAKE CITY — Francisco Daniel Aguilar says he’s sorry for shooting and killing his girlfriend, 16-year-old Jacqueline “Jacky” Nunez-Millan, a Piute High School sophomore, in 2023.
But just as he did when he was sentenced, he didn’t have much of an explanation on Tuesday as to why he shot her not once, but twice.
“It just kinda happened. I was mad. And I stepped out (of my truck) and started shooting,” he said. “When I saw her fall, I just kind of panicked, I just went and shot her again.”
But Jacky’s friends and family members say even before she was killed, Aguilar already had a history of violence, and they now want justice to be served.
“You don’t accidentally take a gun, you don’t accidentally grab a knife … you don’t accidentally shoot someone, those are all choices,” a tearful Rosa Nunez, Jacky’s sister, said at Tuesday’s hearing. “Keep him where he needs to be.
“Don’t release him ever. Please.”
On Jan. 7, 2023, Aguilar, who was 17 at the time, got into a fight with his girlfriend, Jacky, shot her twice and left her body near a dirt road outside of Circleville, Piute County. He was convicted as an adult of aggravated murder and sentenced to a term of 25 years to up to life in prison.
Because of Aguilar’s age at the time of the offense, board member Greg Johnson explained Tuesday that the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole is required to hold a hearing much earlier than the 25-year mark, mainly to check on Aguilar and “see how things are going.” Aguilar, now 20, is currently being held in a juvenile secure care facility and will be transferred to the Utah State Prison when he turns 25 or earlier if he has discipline violations and is kicked out of the youth facility.
According to Aguilar’s sentencing guidelines, he will likely remain in custody until at least the year 2051.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Aguilar told the board that he was feeling “stressed out” during his senior year of high school. He said he and Jacky would often have little arguments. But their bigger fight happened when he failed to get her a “promise ring” around Christmastime, he said.
On the night of the killing, the two were arguing about the promise ring and other items, Aguilar recalled. At one point, he grabbed a knife and then a gun because, he said, he wanted to “irritate” and “scare” Jacky. According to evidence presented in the preliminary hearing, Aguilar and his girlfriend had been “trying to make each other angry” when Aguilar took ammunition and a 9mm gun from his father’s room and then drove to the Black Hill area in his truck with Jacky.
Jacky’s friend, McKall Taylor, went looking for her that night and found her. But after Aguilar shot Jacky in the leg, he began shooting at Taylor, who had no choice but to run to her car to get away. Her car was hit multiple times by bullets. Aguilar then shot Jacky a second time as she lay on the ground and Taylor drove away.
On Tuesday, Taylor’s mother, Lori Taylor, read a statement to the board on her daughter’s behalf.
“My innocence and freedom was taken from me,” she said.
McKall Taylor says the “horrifying events of that night will forever play in my head,” and the sounds of Jacky screaming and the gunshots as well as the sight of Jacky falling to the ground, will never go away.
“Francisco is a murderer who has zero remorse,” her letter states.
Likewise, Rosa Nunez told the board that for her and her family, “nothing in our world has felt safe since” that night as they all “continue to relive this horrific moment.”
After shooting Jacky and driving off, Aguilar says he called his father and “told him I was sorry for not being better, for not making good choices, I told him that I loved him. I was just planning on probably shooting myself, too.”
His father told him that although what he did wasn’t right, “he’d rather see me behind bars than in a casket,” and then told his son to “be a man about it. … This is where you have to change.”
Aguilar was arrested after his tires were spiked by police.
“An apology won’t fix what I did. I’ll never be able to fix what I did. But I want to say I’m sorry,” he said Tuesday. “I don’t even know how to fix what I did. I’m hoping I’m on the right track now.”
Johnson noted that Aguilar has done well during his short time being incarcerated. But that doesn’t change the fact “the crime was horrific,” he said.
The full five-member board will now take a vote. The board could decide to schedule another parole hearing for sometime in the future or could order that Aguilar serve his entire life sentence. But even if that were to happen, Johnson says Aguilar could petition every so often for a redetermination hearing.
The board’s decision is expected in several weeks.
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
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