Hearing Micah Bernard was in a scooter accident and may have broken some bones in his face. Can anyone confirm?

Decided to go with Nate Johnson, gave them the spark they needed to make the comeback.

Moving forward Nate Johnson will be the starter if Cam is not available.

Key to the game was the players handling the adversity, being able to come back and win the game.

Happy to have Junior Tafuna back, it was very beneficial in the game.

Continuing to focus on getting the guys healthy on the team.

Didn't feel they handle the run the best in the first half, they were able to make adjustments to improve that in the second half -- credits that improvement to his guys upfront.

Mikey Matthews came up with some clutch plays in the last drive. Says he's a baller on the field. Loves his toughness and ability to make plays. A moment is not too big for him as a true freshman, and he's very similar to Covey with how he's played.

Chris Curry progress is becoming more of a need with Micah Bernard out for the season -- expecting more playing time in upcoming games.

Official Week 2 College Football Power Rankings

What a damn last 6 minutes. Wow. Some initial reaction:

What did we even just watch? Baylor led and was in charge for all but just a few minutes of that game but the Utes are headed home with a 2-0 record and everything to play for.

6/7 for 82 yards vs. 6/19 for 71 yards. It’s painfully obvious that the wrong backup has been starting. To Whittingham and Ludwig’s defense, Barnes is solid in practice, while Johnson is just a gamer. Plain and simple. The offensive flow, both running and passing was so much more smooth.

As anticipated, the defense did just enough to keep Utah in the game and it will likely go that way all season long. Lander Barton and Cole Bishop played phenomenal, so how fitting was it that Barton tipped the crucial turnover and Bishop picked it? Both only had four tackles each, while Bishop had two TFLs, but when they made plays, they were highly impactful.

Credit to the guys for roughing out the heat!

That was a gutsy performance by Ja’Quinden Jackson today and Jaylon Glover grew up before everyone’s eyes. Despite going down multiple times and needing some attention, Jackson just kept fighting and posted an impressive 129 yards on 19 carries (6.8 average). Heroic showing. As for Glover, he absolutely showed up late and carried the reins when Jackson needed a breather. Also, that touchdown play was a pure stroke of genius. Delaying as long as possible before crossing the goal line was really smart.

I could go on, but I want to hear from everyone. Let’s hear about the emotional rollercoaster…

I am so impressed with these guys, they will win and keep us in a lot of games!!!

It’s an early one!… BUT, let’s get this thing rollin’.

Still a lot of injuries, but but the Utes are getting healthier. Barnes gets the start, again. Bernard is unfortunately out, again, more when the time is right. I don’t expect Karene Reid to go today, as more if a precaution and knowing that group is stacked. Junior Tafuna should be good too.

Baylor had a brutal first game and is in the same boat as Utah with being beat up—one being at QB. The Bears’ defense is a gigantic weakness right now, while Utah’s is one of the best in the country. It’ll be a pissed off Baylor team, but even with Utah’s injuries I expect a comfortable win.

Let's discuss some hard earned game balls for that win over Baylor:

Despite a handful of mistakes and waiting until the fourth quarter to make necessary adjustments, Nate Johnson was the spark the Utes needed to make the comeback official, and the defense did just enough for Utah to return to Salt Lake City 2-0 with everything still to play for….

https://utah.rivals.com/news/takeaways-defense-and-qb-change-lead-utah-to-comeback-win

Most would find it difficult leaving on a mission as a starter and then coming back to a stacked room where you have to wait your turn. However, Sione Fotu has the right mindset.

https://utah.rivals.com/news/utes-fotu-back-and-ready-for-whatever-role

Cole and Baylor publisher Nolan Ruth discuss Baylor and the game ahead:

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Looks to be toasty early in Waco.

Mimosas and Bloody Marys are on the menu... and I'm on the east coast, but generally don't get up before noon after a lifetime of night shift...

Cole has the keys to the game and the position battles. Let us know if you agree or disagree:

https://utah.rivals.com/news/keys-and-position-battles-utah-vs-baylor

So here are this week's lines for all the Pac-12 teams, all the 2024 Big 12 teams, and all the ranked teams.

First, the Pac-12:
#12 Utah (-7.5) @ Baylor. This opened at 7, got bet down to 6.5, and then back up to 7.5 (probably because of the Baylor QB news). One book has Utah -8.
Nebraska (+2.5) @ #22 CU. A month ago Nebraska was a 7.5 point favorite. After the CU game Saturday morning, Nebraska was a 2.5 point favorite. All the money's been on CU since then, going from a 2.5 point Nebraska favorite to a 2.5 point CU favorite.
Tulsa (+34.5) @ #8 UW. This should be a gimme. It actually opened at 37.5, so everyone's been betting on Tulsa, but that's just because the number is so huge (only Murray St. @ Louisville, Ball St. @ UGA, Kent St. @ Arkansas, and UNLV @ Michigan have bigger lines this week)
#13 Oregon (-6.5) @ TTech. This opened with Oregon a 7.5 point favorite, but was bet down to 6.5 fairly quickly.
UCLA (-14.5) @ SDSU. This opened at 13.5 and got bet up earlier today.
#19 Wisconsin (-6.5) @ WSU. This opened Wisky by 4.5 and all the money's been on them, despite them struggling with Buffalo.
Arizona (+9.5) @ Miss. St. This opened MSU by 18.5 but all the money's been on Arizona after they destroyed NAU. I'm not sure why, since MSU also destroyed their FCS opener, but I suspect it's because the books thought Arizona was going to be terrible, and they looked at least competent.
OKST (-3.5) @ ASU. Opened OKST -4.5 because OKST struggled with C. Arkansas while ASU struggled with SUU.
Stanford (+29.5) @ #6 USC. Opened USC -30.5 but that's a big line so it's gone down a little bit.
Auburn (-6.5) @ Cal. Opened Auburn -5.5 and was bet up to 6.5 quickly.
UCD @ #16 OR ST. No line for FCS games.

The 2024 Big 12:
Iowa -4 @ IA ST. IA ST was a 1.5 point favorite back in May, then it went to Iowa in June and has slowly increased from 1.5 to 3.5 or 4.0 right now.
Cincinnati (+7.5) @ Pittsburgh. This opened Pitt -3.5 but was up to -7 by noon.
Houston (-10) @ Rice. Opened at 8.5 and then went up to 9.5 on Tuesday and then up to 10.
Illinois (+3) @ Kansas. Opened at 1.5 and bounced around a bunch before landing on 3 late Monday morning.
Troy (+16.5) @ #15 KSU. Opened at 15.5 and has bounced around between that and 16.5 all week.
UCF (-3.5) @ Boise. Opened at 1.5 and has moved up, getting to 3.5 on Tuesday morning.
SUU @ BYU. No line for FCS games.
Nicholls @ TCU. No line for FCS games.
Duquesne @ WVU. No line for FCS games.

The rest of the top 15:
Ball St. (+43.5) @ #1 UGA. This would be an insane upset.
UNLV (+36.5) @ #2 Michigan. So would this
#11 Texas (+7) @ #3 Alabama. Texas getting blown out will make room for Utah to move up. Doesn't have to be huge, 10 points is probably enough.
S. Miss (+31) @ #4 FSU. This would also be a huge upset.
Youngstown St. @ #5 OSU. No lines for FCS games.
Delaware @ #7 PSU. No lines for FCS games.
Austin Peay @ #9 Tennessee. No lines for FCS games
#10 Notre Dame (-7.5) @ NCSU. NCSU could win this if they play well. That would give Utah another spot to move up.
Grambling @ #14 LSU. No lines for FCS games.

Want some insight on why Baylor lost to Texas State last week? Want to know what the Utes are up against when they travel to Waco this week to face the Bears?

I've got an in-depth article with all the information you want to know about the Utes next opponent, the Baylor Bears.

If you haven't already, check it out!

UteNation - Scouting the Baylor Bears

Baylor followed up one of its most successful seasons in school history in 2021, where…

utah.rivals.com

Congrats to him! This took until after the Florida game. It’s well deserved, but it’s also not a surprise that it hadn’t been done yet because spring ball made it seem like he’d potentially fall to QB4. Injuries create opportunities and he took advantage of not jut the recent Brandon Rose injury, but also the injury Nate Johnson had in spring ball.

What do Joe’s numbers say for this week? Give it a read:

https://utah.rivals.com/news/statistically-speaking-utah-vs-baylor

1. Cam Rising - I doubt we see him this week.
2. Brant Kuithe - Same, even though he's from Texas and this is a homecoming of sorts.
3. Junior Tafuna - No idea what his situation is.
4. Simote Pepa - same
5. Johnny Maea - same
6. Connor O'Toole - same

Not a starter but didn't play

7. Chris Curry - Don't know what his health situation is.
8. Chase Kennedy - same
9. Landen King - I assume he was hurt since we're already one man down at TE with Kuithe out.
10 Justin Medlock - if healthy, we would have seen him some after Karene Reid went out.

Guys who played a bit even though banged up
8. Van Filinger
9. JaQuinden Jackson
10 Karene Reid - Almost certainly was in concussion protocol withing the first two minutes of the game. Not sure what his status is for this week.

The guys discuss Baylor, with Joe looking at his number metrics and Matt bringing the human angle along with interesting trends he’s seen:

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That was an awesome performance against the Gators.

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Halie answers last week’s questions and looks ahead to the Baylor matchup:

https://utah.rivals.com/news/burning-questions-utes-head-into-week-2-1

Here’s how the guys graded out with PFF for Week 1:

https://utah.rivals.com/news/inside-the-numbers-utah-week-1-pff-grades

Women’s BB added Jeff Judkins as Assist for player development & community relations.

Great move.

6 USC (Stayed same)
8 Washington (Moved up 3)
12 Utah (Moved up 2)
13 Oregon (Moved up 2)
18 Oregon (Same. Baffling)
25 Colorado

I’ll post the whole thing when I come across it.

Nate Johnson- if his arm ever catches up to his legs he will be a rich man.
Spencer Fano- had some rough patches as you would expect. But starting game one at LT as a true freshman is very encouraging as to what his future looks like.
Mikey Mathews - caught everything thrown his way. Looked good with the ball in his hands.
Mycah Pittman- bit of a rough night. But only one game.
Suguturaga - productive night at his new home at TE.
Cole Baxter - significant upgrade at K.
Logan Fano - held his own as a freshman.
Keanu Tanuvasa- he’s going to be a problem for our opponents.
Levani Damuni- thanks Stanford. HS a nose for the ball.
Tao Johnson- excellent speed, reliable tackler, impressed with his fearlessness in defending the run.
Sione Vaki- not a newcomer but he is a big time baller.