Utah vs Baylor Preview: Utah QB Cam Rising Expected To Play

The Baylor Bears are in trouble. Baylor lost its first matchup against Texas State as a 20+ point favorite at home.

Granted, Texas State added a lot of transfers. But this was its first game in FBS.

Baylor will continue its season against the Utah Utes, who just knocked off Florida quickly in Week 1. Utah earned the win without Cam Rising at quarterback. The star quarterback is still recovering from an ACL injury he sustained in the Rose Bowl last year.

Updates have been positive, but it’s still unclear if he’ll play in Week 2 against Baylor.

After Baylor’s most recent loss, the Utes could keep Rising out until Week 3. However, reports state that he will practice without limitations this week. If all goes well, he’ll likely start and return to the field for the Utes.

Here’s a look at the Utah vs Baylor preview for Week 2 of the college football season.

Can Baylor Recover From Embarrassing Loss?

The Baylor Bears didn’t just lose their Week 1 matchup. They were destroyed in the home opener. Baylor allowed Texas State to earn its first Power Five win in the program’s history.

The Bears, run by a defensive-minded head coach, allowed 441 yards to a team that just became an FBS team.

Baylor added nine penalties and only earned 3.4 yards per rush. The Bears still earned more yards than Texas State, but they turned the ball over twice and ran for only 108 yards throughout the game.

If you look at the box score, Baylor should’ve won. The Bears added more first downs and added a better third-down efficiency percentage. The Bears also won the time of possession by about seven minutes.

However, Baylor’s quarterback, Blake Shapen, was injured during the game. He still played but was hobbled throughout the second half. Shapen threw two touchdowns, no interceptions, and added 303 yards. But the run game was weak, and Sawyer Robertson didn’t play well when Shapen was unavailable.

Baylor likely won’t be near the top of the Big 12. But they’re better than that Week 1 loss to Texas State. Either way, they’ll move down the NCAA Football rankings after that inexcusable loss.

Cam Rising’s Potential Return

The Utah Utes hoped that Cam Rising would be available for their first game of the season against Florida. He eventually was ruled out, and Bryson Barnes started that Week 1 game.

He went 12-for-18 with 159 yards and a touchdown in a Utah 24-11 win. Utah didn’t turn the ball over with Barnes under center, which was significant.

However, the junior quarterback also didn’t throw the ball effectively. He just threw 18 times, but he kept the turnovers down, especially knowing how good the Utah defense is.

The offense only gained 270 yards of offense with Barnes under center. There’s still room for improvement. Utah can be much better on offense. Rising would be the difference-maker if he’s available to play in this game.

Rising threw for over 3,000 yards last year. He also added 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions and held a QBR of 83.1. That QBR was in the top ten in college football last year.

The offense added fewer first downs than Florida and only 7.2 yards per pass with Barnes.

On the other hand, Utah’s defense held Florida to just 13 yards rushing on 21 attempts. Florida had success throwing the football against Utah. But some of that was because the Utes wanted to keep Florida in front in the second half with the lead. They just allowed passes to get completed in front of them. They knew that that would waste some time and make the clock tick.

With Rising expected to return and Baylor coming off an embarrassing loss, I’ve got some NCAAF predictions for this game below.

Utah Utes vs Baylor Bears

Week 2 of the college football season is a bit weak. There aren’t that many exciting games. Alabama plays Texas. That’s the one game everyone wants to watch. Nebraska will also take on Colorado. That’s another. But beyond those two, this might be the third most exciting matchup in the college football today schedule.

Utah has hit the Moneyline in 9 of their last 13 games for an ROI of 6%.

Many thought Baylor would be a more significant challenge to Utah at the beginning of the season. Many aren’t that interested in this matchup anymore after that Baylor upset.

Still, Utah is only a 5.5-point favorite on the road after covering a 4.5-point spread against Florida last weekend. On the other hand, Baylor lost by 11 points as a 27.5-point favorite against Texas State. Yet, they’re just a 5.5-point underdog at home against the reigning and defending back-to-back Pac-12 Champions.

Meanwhile, the total for this game against Baylor is currently sitting at 50.5.

Below, I’ll list some strengths and weaknesses in the Utah vs Baylor preview.

The Bears’ offensive line was atrocious against Texas State. With Utah’s defensive line, the Utes should put much pressure on Shapen and force some mistakes. Shapen is already hurt and probably won’t be able to move as well in this game.

Meanwhile, quarterback play was weak for the Utes against Florida. With Cam Rising potentially returning, the Utes should be much better offensively moving forward. The run game lacked, and the offensive line wasn’t excellent against Florida. However, Utah’s defense was terrific against the run and rarely missed tackles in their game against Florida.

Baylor will likely struggle to run the football against Utah. Meanwhile, Utah’s offense should be more aggressive with more passing plays called. Barnes threw just 18 times, while Nate Johnson added four throws. The play-calling will be different once Rising returns. They’ll be more aggressive, take more shots down the field, and earn more passing yards against Baylor’s defense.

If anything, the Baylor secondary looked like the weakest portion of its defense last weekend.

Fade Baylor!

Although Baylor lost to Texas State, 42-31, they’ll be as low as +195 on the moneyline. The Baylor Bears were never projected to be a poor Big 12 team this season, and one game shouldn’t change anyone’s thoughts.

However, the Utes dominated an SEC team by multiple scores without their top quarterback. The Utes also didn’t play their best and still found a way to win against the Gators. The Utes took control in that first half. Maybe they were outplayed in the second half. But ultimately, Utah was controlling the clock and keeping turnovers down.

The Utes did what they had to do in the second half of the game. In the Utah vs Baylor preview, I’m fading Baylor. I’ve got the Utes covering on the road.

For college football betting news, odds, analysis and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.

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