Utah Football's First Big 12 Test: Will Brant Kuithe & Dorian Singer decimate Baylor Football?

we are just one day away from Utah's first game against a big 12 opponent in 2024 it's a non-conference game but it doesn't mean it's not an opportunity for Utah to make a big statement against a big 12 foe so who's in for a big day cam Rising Brant keithy Connor ool Tao Johnson we're gonna tell you who on today's lock on UT you are locked on UT your daily podcast on the Utah UTS part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day hello everyone and thank you for making lockon UT your first listen every single day we are part of the locked on podcast Network where we cover your team every day and if this is your first listen make sure you like And subscribe if you're in the market for a second listen locked on college football has you cover as we gear up for week two of the CFB season make sure you guys like And subscribe love interacting with all of you in the comment section also want to take a moment to thank the sponsor of today's episode of lockon Utes game time today's episode is brought to you by game time you can download the game time app create an account use code locked on College all caps no spaces for $20 off your first purchase my name is JT Wier former intern inside the University of Utah athletic department and today it's time to drop some predictions for who on this Utah yous roster is going to ball out against the bayor Bears this Saturday and as Utah begins a new era in the Big 12 will be their first time taking on a big 12 team since entering the conference officially we excit I'm excited to bring on a firsttime guest on the show now as Matt Patton of Utah Rivals excited to join me you guys might know Matt for his great breakdown statistical wise that he does on social media keeps us covered on everything and Matt that's excited that's what I'm excited to talk with you about here is who is in for a big game against Utah and let's start with Bad Moon Rising right it was so great to have him back last week and you did a great job highlighting in your Twitter in the Twitter breakdown that you did that the B the maybe the best part of this Baylor team might be the secondary but I still think cam rising in this passing attack there's a reason this Utah team is a top 12 team they're 11 should be 10 in my opinion ranted about that earlier this week but I think Cam's gonna have a big game I think that when you look at the amount of weapons that Utah has Baylor's pass rush has improved and I do think they might get home a couple times in this game but I think overall Utah's going to come in with another strong game plan they're the better team and that includes on the outside to me still I think Cam's going to go over 300 yards and have three passing touchdowns in this one I I like that I like that a lot um you're absolutely right there are so many so many weapons I look at Stanley and you have to remember that was against an FCS team and that means that they didn't even open the Playbook they just used a couple same routes using those those wheel routes so I think that Rising you know he's got Stanley he's got keithy if they try to hone in on those guys we haven't even seen what some of the receivers can do um yeah I I agree I think a game over 300 yards makes a lot of sense yeah you could definitely just go over 200 in this one it could be a lower scoring one but I I do think that this passing attack and I think Utah's Run game is gonna be solid I just think the passing attack is going to end up being the strength of this team you need to feed a guy like Brent keithy you need to feed Dorian singer I do think bran will lead this team in receiving yards this game again I think he's going to go over 80 yards but I also think Dorian singer will and Matt you mentioned it we haven't seen everything from this offense and what does that also mean we haven't seen everyone contribute I think Landon King is gonna make a couple grabs this game we didn't notice Landon in the game but he was on the field early and often and we saw in training camp he was even beating guys like Smith Snowden in coverage so he has to see the field more right and I know Caleb loner got a lot of shine I am very curious to see with Caleb loner just how he continues is used every game in critical spots since he is just so new playing football he looked good in week one but also at a drop that against a opponent that is a legit one like Baylor you you can't afford to make those mistakes so was impressed with loner overall for his first time really doing this live action but curious to see that but the number one guy I just gotta believe we're gonna see more of in this game is Damen Alford yes money Parks is going to be your main guy on the outside Michael Pitman will get some involvement too Damen alord did play last week he was credited with participation we saw him running around out there a few times I think in this game he's going to make a big play it's going to be over 15 yards and we're going to hear that big old Roar in rcle stadium that we missed for so long on a Saturday afternoon yeah I I I think singer and Alford um uh you know Whittingham specifically pointed out singer uh but I think that it's almost intentional that they haven't been been using Alford yet he's got that height U almost as tall isn't he 67 66 like with CLE maybe six seven depending on how you know Everyone likes to give a little bit of that roster hyp bump right yeah I mean and so I kind of feel like with Caleb loner for example they were using him just to uh see what he could do and it's a great great spot to do that against Southern Utah but uh yeah I think you'd see Alfred get more of those types of passes in in a big game uh when you play against Baylor I agree I think Alford I'm very curious Carson Ryan as well another one uh D Bentley didn't get a chance to to make a grab last game but he was on the field as well frequently so so many weapons I haven't mentioned money parks's name he's always a guy that's capable of uh of making a big making a big play to absolutely so so many guys that have a chance to contribute for this Utah offense and I I do think the running game is gonna have a solid outing as well I do think you're gonna see Utah I I just look I know Baylor did some nice things against charlson I know that they have some they're improved from last year they're not going to go three and N this year I don't know if they'll reach ball eligibility I like davand I hope he keeps his job but also just the fact of only one team has won in rice eckle Stadium since 2019 that was bonick and the orgon Ducks and not the bonick that we saw and not the or not excuse me not the Bon but not the Oregon team we saw on Saturday that nearly lost to Idaho but the one last year that was a top 10 team and I just this Baylor team's not that they have dcoin Finn they're still breaking him in I want to talk about everything with Finn and some of that stuff in a moment but this defense finished outside the top 100 last year so even with the secondary still having some nice spots the linebacking core Some solid players I think the defensive line is improved Utah is just clearly the better team if they execute and they at their best they they should win the line of scrimmage to me so you're going to see over 150 yards rushing maai Bernard is the leading back I thought Jaylen Glover pred Prett pretty well last week too so he's another one that I expect to see get more roles and Matt you highlighted dejon Stanley so early dejon will be involved a lot still to me but I'm also so excited for how Andy lwe can now use Deon as a decoy because anytime he's on the field this def will be keying in on him so even the wheel routes which you're not used to having a defense like have their ears perk up for a wheel route but you know if you're even slightly misaligned with the speed that Stanley has it just can absolutely devastate you so the running game is another area where I do expect Utah to have some success because Baylor is this is not the Baylor team that won the Big 12 in the trenches a couple years ago yeah now and and that's something I noticed and when you when you talked about uh what youth player would have a big day my first thought went right to the running back room because Baylor had the worst Rush defense in the Big 12 last season that's why they had a defense that was outside the the the top 100 and that's just just not a strong defensive line and if you look at it they they lost uh their best probably their best player on on defense defensive end I can't think of the name right now but their defensive end their defensive tackle and they really didn't get many great uh players to come in through the transfer portal so Utah should be able to attack that defensive line all game long it's just who will it be and that's still hard to know and and and the good thing is Baylor won't know either will it be Mike Mitchell will it be Deon Stanley will it be Jaylen Glover you know and of course Michael Bernard's gonna be there but how much so and maybe it's all of them yeah my biggest hope is just for Mike Mitchell that he holds on to the ball because we saw how quickly last year when if you fumble Kyle Winningham will not play you I saw this Utah team with the Nate they put Nate Johnson in against Oregon State and they are like we are not going to run Nate Johnson because he fumbles and they didn't say that obviously but like that is what they were saying based on their play call because his best attribute is running the ball and they were only letting him drop back because they were worried he was going to Fumble so it's things like that where it's just I hope that he can hold out of the ball because we are all so fired up about his his potential and as I mentioned too I feel like there's a chance cam could get sacked in this game because even those Baylor offensive line defensive line is not it's one of the weaker parts of this team it's a step up from Southern Utah and we saw cam get pressured by that southern Utah front so I think it's a nice test for the Utah offensive line I just love how this these three games are such a great ramp up for all of Utah's roster I feel like in terms of hey you're playing first you played an FCS team clearly better then then you're gonna play a power five team and even though Baylor is I don't expect them to become a top 25 team at any point in the year very well could end up being one of the 50 best teams in the country that remains to be seen But e either way a power five team but not a juggernaut of a power five team and then even Utah State right which is a a team a group of five team that has done some nice things maybe the Revenge Revenge game for Bryson Barnes angle but I just feel like this schedule sets this Utah team so well to get back and get acclimated I've pushed back all week long on cam Rising didn't impress me and all the things of that nature but I will say too I mean cam did he wasn't perfect the throw to money Parks it was a little behind him he still brought it in so that's where I feel like people are nitpicking but and the throw uh oh Mike Micah Pitman over the middle of the field uh missed him there a little bit too so cam wasn't perfect I still think he was really good in some of the discourse about that is out of control but that's why I'm loving these games as an opportunity for him to get more experience get more comfortable before that big test in Still Water yeah and you talk about ramp up that's something that I really like that I saw just against suu the first half there was some things that weren't quite you know going the way you'd like to see especially on the offensive line and even on the defense they weren't really getting the penetration you'd want to see and and the pressure on the quarterback but by the second half that completely changed and things seemed to be a a lot better in sync and and that was even once you started to lose some starters right so yeah I think I think we'll see that again here against Baylor where where they just now take that next step and usually you see so much progress from that first game to the second game and with a team with so much talent like Utah has uh it's going to look really good against Baylor it is going to look really good and I also think the defense is going to look really good so we got a preview which individuals on Utah's defense are going to have a massive outing inside rle stadium in one moment but first I want to talk with you all about the sponsor of our episode of Locked on Utes today our friends at LinkedIn Talent Solutions when you're hiring for your small business you want to find quality professionals that are right for the role that's why you have to check out LinkedIn jobs LinkedIn jobs is the tools to help you find those right Professionals for your team faster and for free LinkedIn isn't just another job board LinkedIn helps you hire professionals you can't find anywhere else even those who aren't actively searching for a new job but might be open to the perfect role in a given month over 70% of LinkedIn users don't visit other leading job sites so if you're not looking on LinkedIn you're looking in the wrong place on LinkedIn 86% of small businesses get a qualified candidate within 24 hours you can hire professionals like a professional with LinkedIn LinkedIn knows that small businesses are wearing so many hats that they might not have the time or resources to hire that's why LinkedIn is constantly finding ways to make the hiring process simpler and it's also one of the reasons that LinkedIn is used by over 2.5 million small businesses you can post your job for free at linkedin.com lockon colge that's linkedin.com lockon colg lockon is all caps no spaces to post your job for free terms and conditions do apply all right Matt still with me here as we'll switch to the defensive side of the ball for the Utah team and really starts with taquan Finn Baylor's quarterback I am much more scared of his legs than I am his arm you did a great job noting in your Twitter in the post you made he's had 27 interceptions Matt over the last few years or is it 25 see 25 yep 25 20 27 after Saturday so 27 interceptions after Saturday because I do think he's gonna turn it over a few times turned it over twice against Charlton and neither one was a good pick it wasn't like the you know at the end of the year shador Sanders will have an interception because a ball bounced off a guy's ankle in the air those were not the the interceptions to Quan Finn had one of them he just threw it up deep and the guy was not open the other he was forced out to his right he was scrambling and he tried to throw it and he didn't see the guy who was right in front of him his intended target so I think F Finn has some talent I think there's a chance that he could make some plays with his legs I actually think he's gonna be this team's leading rusher I'm not a fan the this Baylor team is better defensively than they are offensively I'm not a fan of their running backs I'm not a major fan of their offensive line and I think Finn is their best rusher but that's why if I'm Utah biggest thing is contain him make sure he doesn't get outside the pocket and force him to try to make plays downfield now Baylor's receivers will have a chance and probably win some of those one-on-one situations you know no ken and Johnson as well as this is a group last year that won some of those situations against Utah we remember miles battle at the end of the game it uh nearly spiraled out of control that type of a play can happen in this one but I don't see this Baylor team being able to move the ball consistently because Utah's make them one-dimensional and I don't think dquan Finn is going to function well being one-dimensional no not at all and you know I got to give dcoin Finn some credit I mean when he was out there in the transfer portal he was a big Target for a lot of schools and that's because he he is such a good dual threat quarterback and he's he's also he's played a lot of games and uh that's a part of why he's so high on the interception list I think he's uh number 14 right now of of interceptions thrown of active quarterback so he's definitely thrown a few and and it's because he slings that ball all over the field and he's a little reckless with it in fact there was a couple other interceptions that that were dropped I mean they were right in the hands of the Tarlton State players so it could have been even worse for him in this last game but that also means he'll get a couple He he'll he'll land a couple big throws um and so that'll happen too but I I completely agree um it looks like their top rusher Dominic Richardson's going to be out for the game and like he said yeah um Pender grass he's just a he's just a big big Runner likes to just go north and south and then they got Reese and he's a little bit more like your uh a little bit like Jaylen Glover cross with Makai Bernard it's it's it's it's kind of your scatback and so Utah shouldn't have any problem with either of those guys um they're both just average to be kind and so yeah you you you you shut those guys down they did have a little trouble with QB contain against suu and so I I agree too that Finn Finn will probably have 7080 yards rushing in this game yeah yeah I feel like that's how it get loose but we also know this Utah team you know what Matt he's gonna have that but then the weird thing in college where they count the sacks as rushing yards I feel like which I can't stand by the way I just think there's got to be a statistical way for us to realize like hey this guy is like decides to Scramble now he's pass the line of scrimmage oh rushing yards oh he got tackled behind the scrimmage line of scrimmage but yeah it was clearly a pass play like I don't think we should give him negative eight yards for that that's a that's a separate rant for for another day though but yeah I think that yeah Finn will have a plance to make some plays the receivers will make some plays Utah is not shutting out Baylor Baylor's gonna do some things and I agree with what you said too let's talk about dquan Finn I think he's a I think he's a solid quarterback in the Big 12 I think he will end or I guess the Big 12 is some pretty good quarterbacks but overall I think he's a pretty good college quarterback for even the power four level but he's going in Ryle stadium and I have seen Jaden Daniels and I know it was before Jaden Daniels became Heisman Jaden Daniels I've seen how bad Jaden Daniels looked in Utah I've seen so many offenses come in here I mean look at Florida last year I know Florida's not great every if there was a Gator fan for some reason listening they would be screaming about how Billy Napier and Graham Merz and all this and all that but it's just what Utah does they make these guys play even worse we see the false how many dang false start and just penalty last week and I know that's week one Southern Utah but we see this all the time with opponent so that's why we can actually Factor it in teams get fatigued because of the altitude even games that are closer than normal at halftime those teams wear out by the time in the second half rice EO Stadium there's been a lot of comments about like you know the volume and everything of that nature Saturday power five game this place will be rocket I have no doubt about that and that's where you're going to see this Baylor team get tripped up a little bit and I can't wait to just see the atmosphere that awaits the Baylor Bears yeah it's it's going to be insane it always is Utah is such a different team at rle Stadium always yeah they're spectacular there so as for the individuals I think are going to play well their left tackle is slow-footed and I think Connor ouul is ready to take advantage of that we're talking about a former tight end converted to a defensive end that the coaching staff been raing about for two years I think this is a two sack performance by Connor otou also think there will be another one where Utah does a good job forcing Finn to step up in the pocket and and that's where Mr Keanu tanu Vasa will be waiting to engulf him so three sacks I'm going there and I'm also I am going with two picks you throw two picks against tlon I'm sorry you're throwing two picks inside rcle stadium as well one of those which will go to karene Reed who will do a good job disguising where he's at and pop up when Finn least expects it and other one I'm gonna go with Gilman I think Gilman gets one on the back end for this Utah Squad Matt for for you is there any Utah UT in particular maybe it's a tao Johnson who we might see more at nickel this week it remains to be seen how Utah will exactly make that shake up because Kyle Whittingham loves to be coy with the media of course but which Utah UT defensively do you think are in for a big outing you keep you keep taking exactly what's in my mind Tao Johnson it's is gonna be his breakout party I actually thought Teo was gonna get two because because I I think the way watching Finn in these last couple games that I've seen him uh he loves to throw that ball deep and he's gonna go for some home runs and Johnson's gonna be right there ready to take him so I think Johnson and then I was thinking on the on the defensive side um I think Connor o tul is gonna do great but this is gonna be a Lander Barton breakout party I think that this is the kind of game where I see him I I see a lot of blitzes and and having him come off the edge I wouldn't even be surprised to see a couple safety blitzes getting some sacks and I think it's going to be a four sack game I would love to see that as well I think Utah's absolutely got a chance to do that been is elusive but you can only break so many tack especially if they are the safeties to your point like that's where their quickness compared to no offense pan tanasa trying to tackle daan Finn in space I feel a lot better if that is Lander Barton uh Tao Johnson whatever safeties Utah decides to send on a blitz D I would love to see and this is always the balance right because Utah has son F to they have other good linebackers too I'd love to see more Jonathan Hall in this game I'm I just think he's fantastic I I like the transitional linebacker for him because of how good he played in the Box against Northwestern I like the flashes we saw against Southern Utah He's another Defender I would love to see in this one and I just I can't wait to see this Utah team get a chance to really tee off on a big 12 opponent for the first time this year because all the big 12 fans have been frustrated that Utah's been picked to be the preseason favorite they're like why this and all the frustrations and that and I think Utah's got a real chance here Matt to make a statement and that's exactly what I think Utah's gonna do too I think they're covering that 15o spread I Whatever It Is by the time this episode ends up dropping or the time you're listen to it I think it's going to be 34 to 17 Utah where's your score prediction Landing I'm going 3817 so right close these guys are just gonna be so pumped for the game they've been waiting so long and and yeah they gotta play suu but these guys are ready to play a real team they're ready to play a big 12 team and and they're gonna be they're gonna be ready to go and so are the fans they are and it's going to be exciting to see this team really gear up for Big 12 action speaking of big Big 12 action we got to talk about the significance of this it's been a long time since Utah was announced in the Big 12 over a year now but the fact that we are about to see Utah and one of their conference opponents for used to come Baylor take the field I believe is significant so I want to talk about what exactly this new era of Utah in the Big 12 will look like when we're finally witnessing it with our eyes in one moment but first want to talk with you all about one of the sponsors of today's episode of lockon Utes are great friends at game time game time has a new feature called game picks that makes getting tickets for your favorite Live Events even easier game pick filters out all the fluff to show you incredible deals on great seats so you don't have to waste time searching through thousands of tickets there are so many Fantastic deals you can use how about the seat view as well so you just know what kind of a deal that you're getting there's a low price guarantee event cancellation protection job loss protection you can use the app Feature listed in your custom and customize your spot and then supplement as inspiration that allows you to build your perfect selection whether it's concerts of course football games preferably Utah football Jazz games NHL games now game time is the place for you game time creation makes it even easier to save money on Sports concert comedy and Theater events near you you can take the guest work out of buying tickets with Game Time download the game time app create an account and use code locked on on College capital L of locked o for on c for college and those three letters capitalize no spaces in the rest of the word locked on college for $20 off your first purchase terms do apply again create an account and redeem code l o c k e d o n c o l l e GE for $20 off download game time today what time is it game time all right Matt to close this one out let's just talk about Utah in the Big 12 and how crazy is I know we've done endless hours of offseason content on this show about Utah in the Big 12 this Utah and the Big 12 that but such a popular saying is I wanna like talk is cheap right like let's see it to believe it all the things of that nature and it is just crazy we're entering this era and once again I know that Utah Baylor is a nonconference game but this is one of the teams that Utah after last year's Wild game like that's the kind of chapter in a rivalry you don't forget so that's the one thing I would enjoy if this game was close as Utah I want them to build these new Big 12 rivalries I think Baylor when they're rolling has a great chance to be one of those rivalries I actually like Dave Aranda I hope that he figures out a way to keep this job because I think he is the right guy for this Baylor program sometimes you just have down years that are more down than other programs could have but I am really excited for this next chapter for Utah too so much has been made about the transition but finally getting to see these new rivalries this is the first time we're going to have have it shaped out with Utah going and facing a big 12 team with that Big 12 logo on Rice eckle stadium and now that it's finally here I'm excited to see how all these new stories against Utah's new Rivals get written yeah you want to see how Utah Stacks up against new teams we've seen them play plenty of games against all the Pack 12 teams how can they do against the Big 12 uh I've seen a lot of guys on Twitter saying hey Utah's not going to do well against the Big 12 this is a different breed these are these are you know the hoses at the line the big you know the big running back schools and and I just think well okay you don't know Utah because that's exactly what Utah's built on but honestly we don't know and so this is a huge deal we get to see how they stack up against these these teams that that are pretty good this is a pretty well balanced conference this is there's some solid teams we mentioned it Baylor's down this year I don't expect them to stay down for long I think they'll bounce back I think a number of these teams right now like Iowa State really disappointed me the first week but I think by the time that game rolls around that could be like a pesky team that's ranked inside the top 20 to 25 as well as just like just missing out on the ranking so number of these teams that it's going to be fun to watch them how the clash and everything ends up rolling in and I'm just happy that it's here because like you said Matt we've been talking about it for so long and before we do do Big 12 Utah I do just want to get this one rant out of the way which we've done before isn't it always so funny when people say like how can Utah well number one like you said the physicality for Utah right is literally how they won they and if people were like the Pack 12 was down when Utah was winning if Oregon and USC had won first of all especially USC the second time around USC was like fourth they were going to the playoff they AV if they Avenged their only loss on the season and Utah did I always used to say it's hard to beat a good team twice and then Utah did that two years in a row and they beat organ twice and USC twice so I always think that's funny when people do that to discredit Utah also the Pack 12 champion last year literally beat the big 12 champion in the college football playoffs so it's always funny how The Narrative gets changed and shifted to support one team and try to tear down another but there is no argument with how the results play out on the field and that is what we get to see Utah do against their new rival and speaking of Rivals Matt if people want more Utah football content where should they head over to yep rivals.com yep the you UT Nation on rivals.com you can catch all sorts of articles there um I do the previews every week so um come check out the previews I go depth get the stats in there give you everything you need to know about the UT's next opponent so definitely go check it out one of the best follows for you guys on Utah Twitter it's Paton p a ncore Matt Matt excited to see how our predictions and this game plays out really appreciate you coming on with me really really appreciate you having me on that's going to do it for today's edition of locked on udes Big 12 Football is here enjoy Utah versus Baylor I will be back after the game breaking it down and get getting us all set for what is to come which is a exciting season of Utah football continuing to roll on big thanks to Matt for joining me again that's going to do it for today's edition of lock on Utes we'll be back with you next week enjoy Utah versus Baylor