SALT LAKE CITY – Head coach Kyle Whittingham and Utah Football turn their focus to week two and the Baylor Bears. This game will be a non-conference game but will also be Big 12 Homecoming weekend for the Utes and other members of the conference.
Week one provided Utah with a competitive environment to fine-tune execution before the competition increases in the coming weeks. The Utes scored 49 points while limiting the Thunderbirds to 0 on the scoreboard. They produced 513 yards total yards and gave up just 150 on the other side of the ball.
More importantly, it was a good welcome back for Cam Rising, Brant Kuithe, and the rest of the squad but now Utah Football’s season truly begins.
Utah Football preparing tougher test against Baylor Bears
If Utah’s week one contest against SUU was the welcome-back party, week two against the Baylor Bears is the reality check. This will be a much tougher matchup but more importantly, will provide a better picture of Utah’s potential this season.
“Much bigger challenge this week, we understand that,” head coach Kyle Whittingham said. “Baylor is a good football team, they’ve got good personnel, and they’re extremely well-coached.”
“We have to prepare the right way all week long, just like we do every single week and be ready for a fight because that’s what it’s going to be.” Kyle Whittingham on the Baylor Bears
Quarterback Cam Rising had a pretty efficient performance in his return to action on Thursday. He also recognizes that this will be a more difficult contest but feels confident in the guys around him.
“I think they’re a very sound football team and I think they’re going to be (very improved) this year,” Rising said of the Bears. “It’s going to be a good game, we’ve just got to be ready to go for anything they bring at us.”
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Utah needs more from the run game
This week will be much tougher competition. Utah has to maintain levels of efficiency & explosiveness while doing so against a better opponent. So, where can Utah make improvements going into week two?
“There were some things we could do better, as there is every single week,” Whittingham said. “I thought we ran the ball just ok. We had 185 yards rushing but we like to get that 5.0 yards a carry statistic and we were just shy of that.”
Top Five Takeaways From Kyle Whittingham’s Utah vs Baylor Press Conference
Utah’s run game should play a bigger role in the formula to success this weekend. The Bears finished as one of the worst defenses in all of college football last season. That has led to Dave Aranda taking over defensive coordinator duties, which could lead to schematic changes. Utah may need to rely on the run game if that’s what the defense dictates. At the very least, there will be a need for balance on offense as they figure out how to best attack the Aranda-led defense.
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“It was a throw-first game plan, I thought we ran the ball efficiently,” Andy Ludwig said. “Southern Utah was fully committed to stopping the run with 9-man boxes, which created a lot of 1-on-1’s which we were able to exploit.”
Still, Ludwig was encouraged by what he saw from the rushing attack, particularly from the specific components of it.
“I was pleased with Mike Mitchell, what he showed. Dijon Stanley out of the backfield whether as a receiver or running the ball, he did a lot of good things. I’ve got a lot of confidence in Micah Bernard, Charlie Vincent, and Jaylon Glover. And I think the offensive line is really going to be something special on this football team.”
Cleaning up mistakes, continue on a positive trajectory
Not only is there a desire for an improved run game there is also a desire to simply play cleaner football. The Utes had 6 penalties for 55 yards as well as two interceptions, two fumbles- which they recovered, and gave up 9 pressures in pass protection (only 2 on Rising).
“I think procedurally we could be better, we had a series where just kept going backward, kept shooting ourselves in the foot,” quarterback Cam Rising said. “Whenever you have that it’s just bad business, bad ball, and you can’t really have a successful drive when you’re doing that over & over. And then cleaning up a few protections to make sure we’ve got it as tight as we can get it would be great.”
Eliminating self-inflicted mistakes is traditionally a significant part of a team’s improvement after week one. However, tightening up pass protections going into week two will be critical for Utah. Pass protection wasn’t bad against SUU but it could’ve been better and needs to be better against Baylor.
“I think we need improvement in every area,” Ludwig said. “I think I said at the conclusion of fall camp that I was confident in the direction of the offense and the improvement that we’ve shown but in no way are we comfortable. We had good work today and look forward to another day of work tomorrow.”
Utah Football Schedule
Utah will be back in action against the Baylor Bears for week two on Saturday. You can find Utah football’s conference schedule here.
Steve Bartle is the Utah insider for KSL Sports. He hosts The Utah Blockcast (SUBSCRIBE) and appears on KSL Sports Zone to break down the Utes. You can follow him on X for the latest Utah updates and game analysis.
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As the Utah Jazz look to take on the Charlotte Hornets for their second of two meetings for the season, it’ll mark the first time that a familiar face, Collin Sexton, returns to the Delta Center since his offseason trade to the East Coast.
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Earlier in this past offseason, Sexton was sent to the Hornets along with a pair of future second-round picks in exchange for veteran center Jusuf Nurki. It was a deal that was a bit criticized from Utah’s perspective upon initially going down, but in the time since, has seen both players find their way into notable roles with their new squads.
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While Nurkic is listed as questionable to suit up for the action against his former team, Sexton seems ready to go against his, and could even start back in Utah after having previously done so in the Hornets’ latest game against the Indiana Pacers; a game they fell short in 112-114.
So, not only will Sexton be looking for a bounce-back win off a loss, but he could have an extra chip on his shoulder to perform well against his former team as well.
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Collin Sexton Returns to Utah as Jazz Take on Hornets
Sexton was a part of the Jazz for three seasons from 2022 to 2025 after initially coming aboard as a part of the extensive Donovan Mitchell and Lauri Markkanen trade as a sign-and-trade acquisition, and for the tenure that he was in Salt Lake City, was a pretty significant part of the roster––playing a total of 189 games, starting in 120 of them.
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In that time, Sexton averaged 17.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 4.2 assists while shooting 48.8% from the field and 39.8% from three, being a consistent offensive piece in the backcourt next to a growing Keyonte George and, at the time, his fellow veteran guard, Jordan Clarkson.
However, the Jazz, during their latest offseason, made the inevitable shift to focus on their young talent in place of Sexton after three good years of being a core rotational piece, sending him to Charlotte for his third team since being drafted to the Cleveland Cavaliers back in 2018.
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Nov 2, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard Collin Sexton (8) on defense against Utah Jazz guard Keyonte George (3) during the first quarter at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images
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Since being in Charlotte, Sexton has remained about as steady as he was in Utah––averaging 15.2 points a night on 48.3% from the field, paired with 2.0 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game, filling in once again as a valuable locker room add and veteran teammate to help bring along the Hornets’ developing roster.
Last time he went up against the Jazz, it was on his new home floor in Charlotte, making for a pretty brutal game from the Jazz, as they were blown out by Sexton and the Hornets, 103-126 at the beginning of November, which also made for the first time Utah was without Walker Kessler after he was ruled out for the season due to shoulder surgery on a torn labrum.
The Jazz will try and even up their season series, looking a bit different from that two-month span, and will be forced to do so without the services of Lauri Markkanen (rest) and Ace Bailey (hip), thus giving a brighter green light for Keyonte George to have another explosive night scoring the ball, this time against his former teammate.
Be sure to bookmark Utah Jazz On SI and follow @JazzOnSI on X to stay up-to-date on daily Utah Jazz news, interviews, breakdowns and more!
WEBER COUNTY, Utah — She was a good Samaritan, stopping to help when she saw a crashed car, but tragically, that decision ended her life.
According to the Utah Highway Patrol, just before 6 a.m. on Friday, a man and woman were traveling along I-84 in Weber Canyon when they saw a crashed car on the side of the road.
They got out to help, but then they saw another car coming with its brakes locked up.
“The two individuals that were standing outside of the vehicle ran to avoid being hit. One went one direction, the other went towards the side of the barrier, jumped over the barrier, thinking it was solid on the other side, and fell in between the two bridge structures below,” said Corporal Eric Prescott with Utah Highway Patrol.
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Woman dies after falling over I-84 barrier while assisting accident in Weber Canyon
Woman dies after falling over I-84 barrier while assisting accident in Weber Canyon
Prescott said they were from out of town and didn’t know the area very well, and unfortunately, he’s seen this happen before.
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“About 15 years ago. I had another crash that occurred. Had 29 cars that were involved in a similar situation,” he said. “he stepped out to help, and he slipped on the barrier and fell.”
FOX 13 News asked if something could be fixed.
“We love that people want to help, but you also need to consider your safety also. So, it’s a pitch-black situation, you need to be cognizant and aware of like, hey, is this risk worth it of a vehicle that’s in the dark around the corner, no one’s going to be able to see you, and so you just have to weigh that risk,” Prescott said.
No other injuries were reported.
Prescott said they also have trauma resources available for the other drivers on the scene.
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“They didn’t do anything wrong, they were involved in a crash, the bridge was icy. Didn’t contribute anything to the death of this individual, but there’s still going to be those feelings that are going to be involved in it,” Prescott said. “We were able to give some information, these resources, to kind of help give them some closure, to help them to know that, hey, this wasn’t your fault.”
FOX 13 News visited gas stations and rest stops around the area, and while no one wanted to be on camera, each person said even after hearing the story, they would still want to get out and help someone in their time of need.
UHP stated that it takes them 24 hours to notify the next of kin, but they’re hoping to release the identification and other information about the investigation in the coming days.
Jackson has been writing about sports for the Deseret News since 2023.
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No. 9 BYU (14-1, 2-0) vs. Utah (8-7, 0-2)
Tip: Saturday, 8 p.m. MST
Venue: Huntsman Center, Salt Lake City
TV: ESPN
Streaming: espn.com/live
BYU radio broadcast: 102.7 FM/1160 AM/Sirius XM 143
Utah radio broadcast: 92.1 FM/700 AM
Series: Utahleads, 79-72 since 1949 (most recent meeting: 2025)
The trends
For BYU: 14-1 on the season, No. 10 in KenPom, averaging 88.2 points scored and 66.7 points allowed per game
For Utah: 8-7 on the season, No. 131 in KenPom, averaging 80.3 points scored and 80.1 points allowed per game
Players to watch
For BYU: Forward AJ Dybantsa, guard Richie Saunders, guard Robert Wright III
For Utah: Guard Terrance Brown, guard Don McHenry, forward Keanu Dawes
Utah forward Keanu Dawes (8) dunks the ball during a game against the Arizona Wildcats held at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
