Utah Football still the Best in the Big 12? Cam Rising was GREAT & is Baylor in Trouble?

did Utah prove that they are the team to beat in the Big 12 with their big time week one performance and what are the early thoughts on Utah's matchup against Baylor Vegas thinks Utah is going to win big that's what we'll be discussing on today's lock on Utes you are locked on youth your daily podcast on the Utah UTS part of the locked on podcast Network your team and every day hello everyone and thank you for making lock on you it's your first listen every single day we are available on all platforms including YouTube and wherever you may get your podcast if this is your first time listening to our show make sure you like And subscribe love interacting with the all of you in the YouTube comments or on social media we can follow our show at locked onut onx thank you for making lock onut your first listen every single day if you are in the market for a second listen locked on Big 12 is pretty good I hear more on that show in a moment but first want to talk with you all about our great friends at 5our energy 5H Hour Energy fixes tired fast with zero sugar and a convenient portable size it's the perfect pickme up for getting stuff done go to 5our energy.com and use promo code locked on CFB to receive 20% off your order this offer is only valid until September 30th on one order and cannot be used with other promotions you can go to 5our energy.com today my name is JT wher former intern inside the University of Utah athletic department excited have someone who got an opportunity to experience two game days in Utah locked on Big 12 Drake toll joining me after going to not just Salt Lake City for Utah's match up with the Thunderbirds but also checking out BYU's game Drake how was your trip in Utah great JT always love being out here you know Salt Lake is one of my favorite places to visit provos great as well um you know I'm gonna give you very honest opinions on both experiences and and they're not on they're they're not biased because I get paid the same amount when every Big 12 team wins I want every Big 12 team to have an elite atmosphere I want the BYU Utah rivalry to be top-notch because that drives numbers drives eyeballs across the country so I'll give you the full take but before I do that I just want to tell you Salt Lake spectacular Rees spectacular Lees spectacular those two things can be mutually exclusive if you go to a trip if you go on a trip in Utah to watch football you're going to be excited yes I I absolutely agree with you there and I know you did have some comments that we can address in a moment but no matter what you're going to say about your experience overall there's one thing to your point about like how much you enjoyed your time in Utah and loving all of these teams is the question I POS in the open is Utah still the team to beat in the Big 12 we both believe so you have them at top your latest Power Rankings that are available on the big 12's X handle that you run and I have Utah still at the top as well too right and I think the reason we still have Utah as a team to beat is they were the team to beat going into the season and they had a fantastic season opening performance perance right I mean cam Rising a record for touchdowns and just a half for him Brant keithy looked more than back the total yardage at halftime when all the starters win for Utah 339 for Utah 85 for southern Utah Thunderbirds not a great team by not even a I mean look it's an FCS team right like so that's what they are but Utah did what you're supposed to do against the team offense looked encouraging defense was dominant I still think with all the strong performances we saw from Big 12 teams we'll get to those later in the show I still think Utah looks like the best team in this conference as who record this today Utah's number one and and as many people as I've had come after me for my thoughts on the Utah game Utah is number one now the reason that I have a critical eye of Utah is the same reason JT I have a critical eye of Kansas of UCF of of certainly Texas Tech in what they did this week because I hold Big 12 teams in these games to a unique standard that standard is I need you to blow somebody out and put yourself in adverse situations and here's an example Utah did that they said let's run the football let's let's face third down let's face fourth down let's face tough offensive situations and from there allow our Elite coaching staff again that word is not hyperbolic Elite coaching staff to cook two wheel routes three Brant keithy touchdowns those were the plays that Utah went to when they had to have them in the first hey on a third down what do we do hey we're pinned a bit what do we do there was always always a play set up for the youths to be successful they knew we can break the coverage of suu down and they did that so when I come on record as I have on my podcast as I have on Twitter and say cam Rising did not show me an NFL or an elite level throw that's not a bad thing Southern Utah never truly forced him into those moments the couple of times where they got closed the couple times where I thought hey that was good defense from suu cam Rising looked like a quarterback who's missed a year of football that's not a bad thing he's getting back in competition hat on hat with an opposing team rather than the team he's practicing with I don't think cam Rising is a bad quarterback I think he can still be elite in the Big 12 he his five touchdown passes four of them wide open one of them Brant keithy doing what Brandt keithy does he is the best tight end of the country one of the best pass catchers in the country Rising didn't have the opportunity to be a star didn't have the opportunities to impress and that's why I'm still holding out at least on him play calling Elite BR Keith the elite Run game solid holding out on Rising until they play bayor I will agree with a couple of things you said some I'll push back I think one thing that is absolutely true I don't think a single throw in this game is one of the best throws that cam Rising has made during his time at Utah and I also love that you brought up like Drake this is something I brought up a lot on this show Tom Brady before yesterday had played a snap more recently than cam RIS so there was that time where he's got to acclimate himself and get back in the one thing I will push back on and I'm curious if you will you'll keep this from what your show because I think you said your friend was the one who said this are you sticking by one read City for one he didn't have to go anywhere else there there was there was no pressure on him one no pressure the Utah offensive line was great were not what do you the very first play of the game he nearly gets sacked Spencer funo the right tackle gets beat inside he gets hit cam rising from the only there late third late second quarter breakdowns other than that cam Rising pocket time wide open and the times that he did roll out he was good that's my favorite note in there was good on out route but uh yeah had a buddy of mine who's a big college football guy out of Las Vegas actually who said one read City Rising typically was like Hey this guy's open because they were open the whole game they W always the first they weren't the first read always m I from sitting in my seat in section w07 I saw him look at the one receiver and stare at the one guy who was wide open who was the first read and go I'm gonna throw you the ball and it worked well first of all I think if they are for what you are specifically so here's the one read ones right first of all it's impressive pre- snap right recognizing hey dejon Stanley and the way they are lined up I'm gonna make this throw here like that I'm not penalizing him for that uh Brandt Keith's touchdown down the seam that one is the last touchdown to Brandt keithy he's the second read Dorian singer's the first read in the end zone because he's in the end zone so he's looking in the same direction for that then he comes back to Brand by the time his route is open so that one's the second read if you look through these ones as well you find a bunch of them the first down to money Parks he threw the ball a little behind him that wasn't the first read either there are several examples throughout the game where else he goes through his progressions I understand what you're saying with dejon Stanley the money not the first read because that's one that I remember vividly that I didn't like he's not the F the one that that goes for a first down it does go the one behind him he he kind of he put He wasn't the first no he was his eyes don't go there first that's not where Cam's eyes go first when you when you watch it back cuz I know you saw it there I just rewatched the game back that's why I'm going back on this and was able to rewind it and watch his eyes more because I get where you're saying that a lot of times the ball got out of his hand quick like that but a lot of the guys were also in the Deep pass to Dorian singer over the middle of the field money Parks is behind him as well so he he does he's looking at money as well too he's just then moving off of there as well should say too I I will throw this out one read said was not uh was not one of the negatives I had for because for Utah I thought that the offensive play calling was spectacular I thought the hot routes that cam had all night were meant to be open and they were open so that wasn't a problem for me I was very impressed with how Utah called the game especially the scripted drives on the money they were and I think that was something where there were questions about Utah's offense because if you look at the numbers they averaged 23 points per game last year but I think what people don't understand is this is so different because it's a Kyle Winningham team Kyle Winningham did not trust the quarterbacks he had so Andy ludwing in a way had his hands tied behind his back and was not able to run everything he wants to with this offense they had Nate Johnson at quarterback in games what did Nate Johnson do best he yeah you're not wrong with that much much and he's best at running the ball but Nate kept fumbling it so Utah was consent saying hey I know we're down by a touchdown but as long as this game's Within Reach I don't want to risk a turnover here so I'm glad that Andy lwe got a chance to show off his stuff we had talked a lot about the offense I will say really quickly you tweeted out that Brant keithy is King what was most impressive about watching him go off in person he it's he can not only create with the ball but create without the ball when in doubt he is a Travis Kelce type he is that is a per I think it's a perfect Collegiate um example for what Brant Keith is going to give Utah this year it is hey I just I need a break I need an escape I need somebody who's open downfield somewhere Brant Kei is that guy not only will he be open he's going to catch the ball and create and then real quick I want a defensive take from you I thought Utah's front defensive line in particular I know it's Southern Utah but just with how many returners they have back I thought they looked particularly disruptive what was your biggest take away from Utah's defense good Elite I I I think what you can ask of you and I've talked to Spencer mcgoffin who's the voice of suu pregame he said this is the best team we've had in a while the best offense we've had in a while if that if that's the best Su offense they've had in a while and Utah did that to them them it just speaks volumes about Utah's defense it does as well and Southern Utah's quarterback and look maybe this will be end up being the Thunderbirds best offense it's tough to make your first ever start in rcle stadium that was a uh that was a that was a tough go of things there too so Utah's first games in the books now we turn our attention to Baylor in week two Baylor got it done against Tarlton what kind of a threat are they against Utah that's what we are going to be diving into And discussing in one moment but first want to take an opportunity to tell you all about one of the sponsors of today's episode of lock on Utes it's our friends at 5our energy guys I don't know about you but as much as I was loving the college football action this weekend on top of the other things I had on my to-do list I got tired and what I could turn to when I hit that wall was 5H Hour Energy it's there for me before when I want to get a workout in or when I'm just trying to stay up watching the sport I love so much just like you college football and what I love about 5our energy is they have zero sugar and a convenient portable size it's the perfect pickme up for getting stuff done the 5H Hour Energy website has flavor Galore like watermelon tropical burst grape Berry and more there is a flavor for everyone you can try them all on the site you even have the option to build your own 12pack or 24 pack you choose the flavors and it's delivered right to your door if you go to 5our energy.com that's the number five not spelled out the number five 5our energy.com and get some 5our energy product today you can use my promo code locked on CFB all caps no spaces locked on CFB to receive 20% off your order this offer is only valid until September 30th on one order and cannot be used with other promotions the code is not good on subscriptions orders you can go to 5our energy.com today Drake toll back with me here and before we do talk about the Bor thing want to remind you all that we have something really fun that we do each week on locked on College locked on youths and just throughout all our big 12 channels during the season is we all come together during the week and do one massive show together Drake is the challenge of Hosting that and trying to make sure everyone uh talks equally which I do not envy but always a lot of fun it'll drop on Thursdays and we will run it down on everything going on in the Big 12 Conference and we'll get to everything that was going on in the Big 12 shortly Drake but we did see Bor in action this weekend against Tarlton for the first time and look they they beat the crap out of Tarlton right I mean is 45-3 but still some things were like okay in the first half if we're comparing it to what Utah did yes they're up 28 to nothing did have two three and outs and an interception defense looked good but it's also and I haven't even begun to break down the film yet I'm still going on a lot of the preseason stuff because just like with Utah we feel so confident or at least I do because I've seen these players for Utah do it at a high level there's a reason Dave Rand is on the hot seat and there's a reason there are new pieces in like it to Quan Finn because things didn't go Baylor's way yet so I still think they have some questions we'll get to those in a moment but what's your temper temperature check on this Baylor team after week one yeah so far with the Baylor Bears I I think the first thing I've got to say is if the question is is is Baylor in a spot to upset Utah the answer is unequivocally no there's there is and and truly as someone who went to Baylor who now if there's a single Big 12 team that I I would like to see win a National Championship it's the school I gave four years to obviously Baylor is not up to par with a a squad like Utah and neither school really had to give it 100% last week each team got to use the Playbook as they wanted use half of it 60% of it Richard reesea Baylor said that was the case for the Bears and Jake baval great opener as the offensive coordinator I like the play calling for Baylor Dave Randa calling the defense really solid liked his postgame comments saying that I he said he got mad they forced they forced three they allowed three points they for Tarlton into a blender he said I got mad because I just don't like giving anything up those are good signs for Baylor dwan Finn reminded me a bit of KJ Jefferson so many people are ragging on KJ Jefferson from UCF this week because he had the preseason hype tcoin Finn didn't both those quarterbacks were quite comparable great legs the arm was not at all times Elite one of the quotes that I saw used was a peashooter dwan finin is a peashooter however the offensive line of Baylor wasn't up the par what I wanted it to be against an FCS opponent and dcoin Finn wasn't completely consistent so there there's the good and the bad I open with very impressed with what Baylor gave you based on how they played last season going three and N losing to Texas State but also there are still plenty of holes for the Bears where I think Utah is just gonna outch danda Squad and win by a whole lot more than they did in wakeo last year Vegas has been favored by 17 right now which is that's a large line we'll see if Utah can can match that cuz I do have some concerns still about this Utah team for that I still I feel strong about them and I do think they'll beat Baylor but there are still wasn't like it was a Flawless performance from what are you concerned about what about Utah or you because again the offensive line offive harsh I had some harsh takes about Utah but I don't know if I'd say I'm concerned about any I I still thought the o line looked fine what are you concerned about if the offensive line does not play better than they did last week Utah will not win out Oklahoma State I believe that firmly I think that it was now I expect them yeah I still think Utah is gonna lose at Oklahoma State but that's not a bad thing I Me 2 111 I mean Utah's gonna win double digit games in the regular season no doubt you got to lose somewhere probably I mean that's not a bad thing you think the offensive line just wasn't up to par yeah I just don't I think there's still some moving pieces there and you know Cale lomu first ever start Spencer Foo settling back in on the right side and I trust those players to improve each week and I even think especially like you know first game under your belt of the season I think there's even an improvement after that we talked about that with Cam Rising a little bit yes I disagree with some of the things on that we pushed back on but there are opportunities I look at in the game with hey that ball to money Parks was behind him I wish that was out in front of him hey you scrambled too early here if you actually look back over here this this guy is open in that spot too I'm not concerned about camp but there are just still things with the offensive line I want to see come together there are already a couple injuries this team had that start to pile up too so that's where I'm hoping that uh Utah will be able to stay healthy but focusing back in on Baylor I do agree with you I think Utah's in a good spot against the Bears because look dcoin Quinn Duan excuse me Duan Quinn is very talented but you know that I had see the second interception yet I know the first one's not great the defender is right in front of him there so it's just plays like that that those can really come back to bite you when you're already coming in as a big underdown now he's a talented player and Mac Player of the Year from Toledo 2,600 yards 22 touchdowns I like this wide receiver core but there's not really a star I would say at least yet that has emerged as like compared to some of the best receivers in this conference for my money uh running backs in o line probably below average in the Big 12 you even mentioned of being underwhelmed by that offensive line uh dline is fine but I they're not great at Rushing the quarterback solid line backers secondary was not great last year but should be a little better that was a lot of my preseason thoughts coming in and after looking over kind of the statistics from that first game and watching a couple of the key plays I I feel like those still stand especially as we mentioned it's just really hard to win inside Salt Lake City too yeah and if you look at the Twitter feed for both tees if if you're the guy that goes and says oh look touchdown ohoo cool this is a nice touchdown those are not going to tell the story of what these two schools did on Saturday because it was so comparable from the Highlight stample you watch the Highlight package you go oh fun big passing touchdown oh wow how cool cam Rising is back you know Bad Moon Rising plays and oh wow Quan Finn can run for Baylor yeah those things are true but one of these rosters is still vastly better than the other and vastly better than the 20 to3 score that Utah gave last year in Waco and maybe my big thing and Travis RH are one of the best Baylor Bear Insiders there is uh R is boy my journalism degree is lacking me there that guy says that he hasn't found one true playmaker one Creator at least at running back for Baylor that's probably the case between the the trio of guys that they've got running the ball in the back field and for Utah maybe that's my my biggest question at this point going against Baylor is if the Bears shut down the run which s duu had decent success against the run in the first half and cam Rising said look H I'm cam Rising I'll bail us out um and and maybe bail out's the wrong word it was just wheel route Brant keithy bam you can do the same thing against Baylor you can't do that against Oklahoma State my question is if Baylor does end up stopping the run is Utah G to be able to bail themselves out to the tune of winning by 17 points at least I do have qu I have questions about that too I just do feel like there's some things still coming together on this team that I I expect Utah to win but if this was the 17's a lot I mean if this game's within 14 I do think Utah will win but right now I feel confident that Utah will win by I'll still I'll say over 10 right now yeah Utah's up 3110 Baylor gets the trash touchdown you know garbage time touchdown and 3117 is your final you don't cover you still dominated you know yeah and even there're I wouldn't be surprised if this game was within a touchdown at halftime still I think all it takes is that one drive putting together there is still this process of this is a step up in a defense right so you mentioned the receivers cam Rising I'm really high on this group I think they're ready for it but when they are tested to that level that'll be fun task and I'm excited to see if this Utah team is uh is up to par with it too and one thing that's really exciting Drake is because we spent a lot lot of this time all offseason talking about week one well week one is finally in the book so we are going to get an opport opportunity to talk about our biggest takeaways from the first week of action in one moment but first want to take a moment and talk with you all about one of the sponsors of today's episode of lock on UT it's our friends at ultimate college football head coach hey lockon Utes fans I want to take a moment to give you a heads up on a brand new mobile game that I think you 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they say you know what we're good we're going to kind of bow out on this one and and it was sloppy they looked underprepared unprepared based on where Neil Brown had his team fumble here fumble there play calling felt LAX and deal go for it on fourth down and just couldn't push anything through and then the most disappointing team in the Big 12 this weekend the Texas Tech Red Raiders and there's not a what I love about it there and I I know I said good I'm starting with the bad I there is not a single Texas Tech fan that I've had in the comments section on Twitter anywhere is going oh come on man it's week one give us a CH nope they all agree that stunk really really hard beating a abalene I keep wan to say Arizona Christian abalene Christian because of that they're that irrelevant abalene Christian 52- 51 a Miss two-point conversion in overtime that made the difference against an FCS school that's not as good as Wyoming or Southern Illinois or even Tarlton state or certainly as suu that's bad now the rest of us not only took care of business but some teams look doubly impressive doing it Oklahoma State TCU going on the road against Stanford and winning the game that's all I can ask just go win the game some teams didn't do that Arizona and te offense Elite Iowa State's defense Baylor impressed more than I expected them to BYU whether you want to hear it or not 4113 was stunning I had SIU covering all day long in this this game and they dominated and Jake rutz laugh looked good then Arizona State beats the breaks off of Wyoming and Utah takes care of Southern Utah and Kansas beats the breaks off Lindenwood and UCF wins 57 to3 and even Colorado beats North Dakota State that's a good weekend for the big I saw a different Big 12 uh uh uh media pundit post you know the big 12's big missed opportunity in week one I don't give a crap there were no missed opportunities I love that the conference goes 14- two and gets 14 pretty confident wins wait okay are you no missed opportunity even though the Penn State loss I don't even care at this point okay I I freaking I it just oh it irks the crap out of me because I love West Virginia I love their makeup and the second I trust Neil Brown he says sorry here's a fumble and another one and an offsides and a false start and I just I really love West Virginia man and they were so disappointing and the game was funky and James Franklin was more prepared and at this point there are nine other contenders that until West Virginia proves once again we can contend nine other contenders to look at and be proud of that's fair the only thing I will say about West Virginia is it's actually more so about Penn State that team's really only lost Ohio State in Michigan the last few years like I just think at the end of the season that will not be a bad loss even though yes it still sucks to lose at home I just think Penn State's really good program you lost to 10 and two Penn State that's that yeah yeah I know uh last thing before we get out of here we got the time and I know people are just gonna be mad at me if I don't ask you about it but rle Stadium versus you know what I'm gonna say LVL Edwards Stadium give me your thoughts on the atmosphere and experience and explain some of the tweets and comments that have our uh good old Utah fans a little fired up Utah fans I don't hate you I don't like BYU more than Utah I get paid equally to like all 16 teams rice eal state ium on Thursday was far worse than where I've seen BYU and level Edwards Stadium against Baylor against the top 15 team and against Cincinnati last year in a Friday night funky conference game which the atmosphere is great that is not an indictment in totality on Rice ECHL Stadium that's an indictment on Thursday night I come from a school in Bor that when when Baylor's top 15 that's a little rare Utah at this point has seen it but brother you've got a chance to win the Big 12 show up for your school be there when the ball kicks off and yell a little bit that's what I'm asking BYU is going to bring it every game there are intricacies for the reason why and part of that is the absolute love from many of the LDS members for what BYU is Saturday is their chance to let loose go crazy and represent an entire faith on that scale with an institution that is the flagship of that faith for Utah it's a a mixture a fan base that comes together with a mixture of people from this state who care so deeply and on Thursday night I didn't get that now look does that mean on Saturday against Baylor that Utah is gonna have a bad atmosphere no I can guarantee you it'll be spectacular but but and I don't think you can disagree with this Utah from a facility standpoint is still operating with what feels like more of a midlevel low-level Pack 12 Stadium or a highlevel Mountain West Stadium give me a give me an upper bowl give me an opportunity to hear about like the sound escapes straight up give me an opportunity for Utah fans who are at Elite fan base who have an elite Stadium to Showcase that they are that I know you are I know there are very 90% of Utah fans are normal and cool and good give your fan base an opportunity to showcase that and during a big game against B I guarantee they do it I think I agree with I do agree with almost everything you said I think the only thing I'll say is like more so your thoughts on it not being low like because of the stadium construction things of that nature when it's a big game I don't think that would be your same concern I think it would be incredibly loud just like I mean ask grah merch last year I don't I I gr grah merch is going through it right now so maybe don't ask him right now about it maybe not that isues yeah yeah but um this you the look what everything you have talked about is relating to Thurs night versus Saturday night number one also what you mentioned they BYU had more fans in the stany and you were there I always well you know like that's because because of the capacity and i' I've been I wasn't there Thursday but I've been to enough Utah games to know this they say the sellout and you're kind of looking around at the start like this is not a sellout and that's because people do show up late and they begin to pack in especially when what once again what's the feeling it's like oh we have been a top 15 this is an FCS opponent that sentiment absolutely existed versus look this is a BYU team that's G to be fighting to get bull eligible that's a reality of the situation so every win in every game is even more important if Utah like bull eligibility isn't even a question for for what's on the table for them this year too so I I have no doubt in my mind that BYU was of the two the better atmosphere because of the opponent because of what that win the first one will mean like that too and I expect that especially the game against like the Baylor one because this is the first Saturday the Arizona game that'll be coming up soon that's when it'll really be rocking but I know a lot of people had gave you crap for your statements but I I agree I I feel like what you said has been completely Justified and Utah don't use it as an excuse when Auburn plays an FCS School in the opening game they get up Arkansas the same way they're SEC become an secc like atmosphere no matter the opponent no matter the game college football is back get your butt in your seat when K when the ball kicks off hey Kyle Winningham will be playing that clip in front of the team maybe that and a few other things you said about Utah in the past right maybe sorry guys oh Drake you're the best always appreciate you taking the time uh tell everyone what they can expect on lock on Big 12 this week yeah you got the uh Power Rankings coming out this week it's a Monday episode Tuesday we're talking all things Utah you it's Wednesday the rest of the week recap uh both last week and preview this week and lob big2 on Twitter and lock on big2 wherever you find your podcast plus YouTube appreciate you taking the time to check out Utah both for Utah and BYU's perspective and always stopping by with me Drake Thank you again that is going to do it for today's edition of locked on Utes and locked on Big 12 as well appreciate all of you for stopping by and we'll be back with you soon talking more about the conference we all hold near and dear to our parts