A second consecutive trip to the Rose Bowl, on Jan. 2, 2023, could not have ended any worse for the Utah football team.
The 35-21 defeat against Penn State was disappointing, but losing quarterback Cameron Rising to a severe knee injury in the third quarter was devastating. Rising tore the ACL, MCL, MPFL and meniscus in his knee and wound up missing the entire 2023 season, which led to a subpar year for the Utes.
Now back in action, Rising and the Utes are bringing high expectations into this season.
This summer, BuffZone will preview each of Colorado’s opponents for the 2024 season and in this installment we look at Utah, which will visit Boulder on Nov. 16.
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“Cam did not miss one minute of spring ball in any way, shape, or form,” head coach Kyle Whittingham told reporters after the Utes’ spring game in April. “He was back to his old self.”
That’s great news for Utah and not-so-great news for the Big 12.
Like CU, Utah is making the jump from the Pac-12 to the Big 12 and the Utes already have lofty goals. This week, the Big 12 announced the preseason media poll, with Utah projected as the winner. The Utes are likely to be a top-20 team in the preseason polls.
The Pac-12 champs in 2021 and 2022, Utah still went 8-5 last year (5-4 Pac-12), even without Rising. The Utes also played the 2023 season without star tight end Brant Kuithe. Running back Micah Bernard missed the last 11 games of the regular season with an injury.
It was no surprise that Utah’s offense dipped to 23.2 points per game last year, down from 38.6 in 2022.
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Rising, Kuithe and Bernard are all back, though, and the Utes reloaded on the line and at receiver. Most notably, former Arizona star receiver Dorian Singer is in Salt Lake City after a down season at USC.
It all starts with Rising, though. He was the spark to Utah’s back-to-back Pac-12 title teams and he’s the unquestioned leader as the Utes join the Big 12.
Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham looks on from the sideline before the Las Vegas Bowl NCAA college football game against Northwestern, Saturday, Dec. 23, 2023, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker)
“Feeling strong,” Rising said after the spring game. “(I have) been accruing a lot of reps and it’s good to be out there with the guys making plays and watching them go.
“We’ve been throwing the ball as much as we can, just trying to get out there and get that chemistry.”
While Rising should help the offense take a leap forward, the defense looks to be as good as usual. A big reason why Utah still won eight games last year is that the defense held opponents to only 19.3 points per game (tied for 18th nationally).
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Utah lost some key players from last year’s defense, most notably leading pass rusher Jonah Elliss, who was a third-round pick of the Denver Broncos in April. Safeties Cole Bishop (Buffalo Bills) and Sione Vaki (Detroit Lions) were also drafted.
Eight players who started at least five games are back for the Utes, however, six of them from the front seven.
Utah will need to find a replacement for Elliss (12 sacks), but ends Van Fillinger and Connor O’Toole have experience and could lead that charge. There will be changes at safety, too, but Tao Johnson, last year’s starting nickel, had a good spring after moving to the back of the defense.
Whittingham turned Utah into one of the best teams in the Pac-12, with four conference title game appearances from 2018-23 and there’s no reason to believe the Utes won’t be one of the better teams in the Big 12 this season.
Utah Utes
Head coach: Kyle Whittingham, 20th season (162-79)
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2023 season: 8-5, 5-4 Pac-12; lost to Northwestern in Las Vegas Bowl
Series with CU: Utah leads 34-32-3
The Game
Who: Utah Utes at Colorado Buffaloes
When: Saturday, Nov. 16, time TBA
Where: Folsom Field in Boulder
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Utah Utes linebacker Karene Reid (21) chases down Florida Gators quarterback Graham Mertz (15) during an NCAA football game on Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (AP Photo/Tyler Tate)
5 Guys to Watch
RB Micah Bernard: A sixth-year senior, he’s played offense and defense in his career. Although he’s never been the full-time starter, he has rushed for 1,208 yards and seven touchdowns in his career, averaging 5.4 yards per carry. He also has 69 receptions for 620 yards and three scores.
TE Brant Kuithe: A seventh-year senior, he’s one of the best tight ends in the country when healthy, but he’s missed Utah’s last 23 games due to injuries. He was second-team All-Pac-12 three years in a row (2019-21) and has 148 career catches for 1,882 yards and 16 touchdowns.
LB Karene Reid: One of the top returning linebackers in the conference, Reid was second-team All-Pac-12 last year. He finished second on the team with 67 tackles, while also adding two tackles for loss, one interception and four pass breakups. He was first-team All-Pac-12 in 2022.
QB Cameron Rising: The 25-year-old, seventh-year senior is back after missing last year with an injury. A starter in 24 straight games from 2021-22, he threw for a total of 5,527 yards and 46 touchdowns (with only 13 interceptions) and rushed for 964 yards and 12 touchdowns in those two seasons.
DL Junior Tafuna: A preseason All-Big 12 selection, he had 17 tackles, three tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks last year. He was second-team All-Pac-12 three times and was the Pac-12 defensive freshman of the year in 2021.
Good to know
• Between Dorian Singer (USC) and Damien Alford (Syracuse), Utah added a load of experience at receiver. That duo has a combined 175 catches for 2,597 yards in college. Singer had just 289 yards last year at USC, but was an 1,100-yard receiver at Arizona in 2022. Alford caught 33 passes for 610 yards last year at Syracuse.
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• Star linebacker Levani Damuni is expected to miss all or most of the season with a leg injury. He led the Utes with 87 tackles last season.
• In addition to Bernard, Utah returns last year’s second-leading rusher, Jaylon Glover, who had 562 yards and two touchdowns on 137 attempts. The Utes also added Idaho transfer Anthony Woods, who rushed for 1,155 yards and 16 TDs last year and earned first-team All-Big Sky honors.
• On Monday, Utah announced that defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley will be Whittingham’s successor when Whittingham, 65, decides to retire. Scalley, who was born in Salt Lake City and played for the Utes from 2001-04, has been on the staff since 2006. He’s going into his ninth season as coordinator.
• Punter Jack Bouwmeester was first-team All-Pac-12 as a sophomore last year. He averaged 45.5 yards per punt and landed 20 of his 55 kicks inside the opponents’ 2-yard line.
• Kicker Cole Becker, who played at CU from 2021-22, was 15-for-18 on field goals last year with the Utes, including a long of 51 yards. He missed the first three field goal attempts of his career, but has gone 40-of-48 (83.3%) since then, as well as 73-of-74 on extra points.
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Portal movement
Utah lost 25 players to the transfer portal, but most of them were backups. The top two quarterbacks from last year – Bryson Barnes (Utah State) and Nate Johnson (Vanderbilt) – both left, but with Rising back that shouldn’t matter. The Utes did lose some starters, though, including leading rusher Ja’Quinden Jackson (Arkansas). Starting center Kolinu’u Faaiu (Texas A&M), starting cornerback JaTravis Broughton (TCU), as well as part-time starting receiver Mikey Matthews (California) also left. Of the 12 players coming in, receivers Dorian Singer (USC) and Damien Alford (Syracuse) and cornerback Kenan Johnson (Georgia Tech) are headliners. Receiver Taeshaun Lyons (Washington), tight end Carsen Ryan (UCLA) and running back Anthony Woods (Idaho) should also make some noise. Defensively, edge Paul Fitzgerald (Utah State), cornerback Cameron Calhoun (Michigan) and safety Alaka’i Gilman (Stanford) could all be impactful. Former Washington quarterback Sam Huard (Cal Poly) could be a nice addition, as well.
George returned from a right ankle sprain that kept him out six straight games.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) The crowd reacts as Utah Jazz guard Keyonte George (3) hits a 3-point shot at the Delta Center this season.
Utah Jazz coach Will Hardy didn’t need to see much from his young point guard in his return.
“Making shots, missing shots, it’s not anything that’s in question for me,” Hardy said about Keyonte George. “I just want to see him exert himself physically and competitively.”
In that case, mission accomplished.
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After missing nine games in the last month with two different ankle sprains, George returned against the Pelicans on Saturday.
The Jazz lost 115-105.
George’s numbers were fine, scoring 17 points on 4-of-11 shooting in 23 minutes. But Hardy saw enough mobility from George to make him comfortable moving forward.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Jazz Center Mo Bamba sits next to Keyonte George and Jazz forward Jaren Jackson Jr. on the bench in NBA action between the Utah Jazz and the New Orleans Pelicans at the Delta Center on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026.
“I thought he made some athletic plays in small spaces. I was more concerned with his willingness to slam on the brakes,” Hardy said. “And I thought he had a couple possessions where he did, where he really pushed it athletically.
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“He’s like any player, he’s frustrated. He feels like he should have made a few more shots,” he continued. “But that’s not what I was watching.”
George was on a restriction of 20-24 minutes and he wants to be cautious in the days ahead. Utah plays Denver on Monday before heading on the road.
“Feet are the most precious thing for any athlete. So I want to make sure I feel good, not feeling off balance or nothing like that,” George said. “Just want to be cautious with the ankle injuries and stuff like that.”
But for his return, it was good enough.
“I feel like my pop was there. I didn’t want to force anything,” he finished. “I just wanted to play the game. I feel like I did a decent job tonight.”
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SALT LAKE CITY — “If you don’t think you’re a reader yet, it’s because you haven’t found the right book.”
Utah author Sara B. Larson believes there is a book out there for everyone that can make someone love reading. She and dozens of other authors gathered at StoryCon this weekend to teach and inspire young kids to love reading and writing.
“It’s hard to see the drop in literacy that has happened, but it’s also encouraging to see so many people banding together to try and combat it and help our youth,” Larson said.
StoryCon is a literature conference that brings together authors, educators, teens, tweens and everyone in between to focus on the power of literacy. Around 3,500 people flocked to the Salt Palace Convention Center for workshops on writing concepts, shopping for book merchandise, author signings, and even panels about Brandon Sanderson’s famed fantastical universe known as the Cosmere.
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Sanderson, one of the most well-known fantasy authors to come out of Utah, said writing can feel isolating because it is such a solitary activity. He attended a conference similar to StoryCon in Nebraska when he was 18, and the opportunity to connect and meet with real authors was “so invigorating.”
“It was so powerful to just have a community. So I’ve always tried to do what I can to support communities, particularly for young people,” he said.
Aspiring writers don’t need to stress about writing the perfect book immediately, Sanderson advises. While some authors get lucky, like Christopher Paolini, who wrote “Eragon” at just 14 years old, most of the time writing is about exploring genres and just improving your skills over time, he said.
Brandon Sanderson speaks to thousands of people who attended the 2026 StoryCon literacy convention at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Saturday. (Photo: Cassidy Wixom, KSL)
Sanderson himself didn’t love reading at first until between his eighth and ninth grade years.
“I went from being a C student to an A student because of books. This was partially because I found myself in the books; I had a reason to care, but your reading comprehension going up helps in all aspects of life,” he said. “Having a fluency with reading, reading for the love of it, which will just build those muscles in your brain, is extremely important.”
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Brandon Mull, author of the “Fablehaven” series, said he also didn’t like reading as a kid until he read “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” which made a “light go on.” He now feels he owes C.S. Lewis the credit for how his life turned out.
“When I learned to read for fun as a kid, it changed the trajectory of my life,” Mull said. “I’m a practical example of how big a difference learning to love reading can make for someone.”
Authors Sara B. Larson and Brandon Sanderson speak to StoryCon CEO Jennifer Jenkins at a meet and greet during the 2026 StoryCon literacy convention in Salt Lake City, Saturday. (Photo: Cassidy Wixom, KSL)
Mull focuses on children’s literature and said he tries to write stories that children and families can enjoy. Reading fiction helps children develop “a rich inner life,” learn how to be empathetic and develop their minds to be a place ideas can be explored.
The Utah author will soon be celebrating the 20th anniversary of his book “Fablehaven,” which will include a special illustrated edition of the beloved children’s book, a dramatized full-cast audiobook, and the premiere next year of a film based on the novel. He also will be releasing a new series this year called “Guardians” that he believes is some of his best work.
With so many things competing for kids’ attention every day, it’s crucial to teach them to read, Mull said.
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“If we don’t get kids to learn how to read a book and turn it into a story in their head, they are missing an aspect of education that makes them good consumers of information and good consumers of stories,” he said.
Larson agreed with that sentiment, saying people’s brains are being “hijacked” and getting stuck in a loop of only having a 3-second attention span because of social media. Larson has written more than eight fantasy books, including the popular “Defy” trilogy.
“This phenomenon that is happening to our kids, they are losing the ability to focus, losing the ability to even think with any sort of deep analytical process. It’s so vital to get to these kids and help them realize you have got to put down the phone and pick up a book and train yourself to focus,” she said.
There is wealth, knowledge, joy, happiness, peace and calm to be found when you put social media away and instead dive into a book, she said. Reading helps children grow up to be successful adults who can pursue goals, constantly learn and successfully contribute to society.
StoryCon CEO Jennifer Jenkins said it has been overwhelming to see the success of the event. StoryCon was created by the nonprofit Operation Literacy last year and has become the biggest literacy-focused event in Utah.
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Growing up, she felt there wasn’t a place for writers compared to athletes or dancers who always had camps and conventions, so she helped found Teen Author Boot Camp, which evolved into StoryCon.
“Kids need to know they are being taken seriously. They need to be validated and know they are being encouraged,” she said. “That’s the why behind all of this. We really want to put them before anything else. These kids are the heart of everything we do.”
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.
Arizona State basketball is at a crossroads. After back-to-back road losses to Baylor and TCU, the Sun Devils are suddenly fighting just to stay above .500.
Now, with Utah coming to town Saturday afternoon, this isn’t just another conference game. It feels bigger than that. It feels like the moment that decides whether this season still has life or if it quietly fades away.
The Danger of Falling Below .500
All season long, Arizona State has had one strange pattern.
Every time they dropped to .500, they responded with a win. They never let things spiral.
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But now they’re sitting right on the edge again.
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A loss to Utah would push them below .500 for the first time all year. That might not sound dramatic, but it matters for team morale.
Teams feel that shift. Confidence changes. Urgency changes. And with only a few games left before the Big 12 Tournament, there isn’t much time to recover.
That’s why this Utah game feels different.
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Feb 21, 2026; Waco, Texas, USA; Baylor Bears guard Isaac Williams (10) scores a basket over Arizona State Sun Devils guard Anthony Johnson (2) during the second half at Paul and Alejandra Foster Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Chris Jones-Imagn Images | Chris Jones-Imagn Images
Utah Is Playing Better — Especially on Defense
When these two teams met a few weeks ago, Utah was struggling.
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Since then, they’ve improved. They’re still built around their top scorers, who combine for around 40 points per game, but the real difference lately has been defense.
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Utah has started putting together more complete defensive performances. They’re contesting shots better. They’re finishing possessions. They’re not folding as easily in the second half.
That matters because Arizona State’s biggest issue right now isn’t effort, it’s physical depth.
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Feb 21, 2026; Waco, Texas, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils head coach Bobby Hurley disputes a call with an official during the first half against the Baylor Bears at Paul and Alejandra Foster Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Chris Jones-Imagn Images | Chris Jones-Imagn Images
The Real Niche Problem: Guard-Heavy and Worn Down
Here’s something that doesn’t get talked about enough: Arizona State’s roster balance is off.
Because of injuries, especially the likely season-ending absence of Marcus Adams Jr., the Sun Devils are extremely guard-heavy right now. More than half of the available players are guards. That creates matchup issues, especially against physical teams.
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We saw it against TCU. They got to the free-throw line 36 times.
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They won the physical battle. Even when their best scorer struggled, they still controlled the game inside.
ASU just doesn’t have the same frontcourt depth.
With only a few true bigs available and some undersized forwards playing bigger roles than expected, the team can get worn down.
Late in games, that shows up in missed rebounds, second-chance points, and tired legs.
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It’s not about hustle. It’s about bodies.
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Why Saturday Truly Matters
If Arizona State beats Utah, everything changes.
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Suddenly, you’re heading into Senior Night against Kansas with momentum. Win that, and you’re talking about a possible 7–11 conference finish and a much better Big 12 Tournament matchup.
From there? Anything can happen.
But if they lose Saturday, the math and the hope get much harder.
That’s why this game isn’t just about Utah.
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It’s about belief. It’s about roster limitations. And it’s about whether this team has one more push left in them before the season runs out.
