Utah Football Made A Statement In 22-19 Win Over Oklahoma State

Stillwater, OK –  Don’t take for granted how significant Utah’s 22-19 victory over Oklahoma State truly is.

This was a matchup of Top 15 teams. The No. 12 ranked visitor taking on the No. 14 team in their house.

And after a game-time decision that wasn’t made until the final minutes before kickoff, that No. 12 team was also without their star quarterback.

UTES WIN!!!!! 🙌🙌🙌🙌#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/7x2T9AHQrB

— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) September 21, 2024

It didn’t matter. Utah earned the victory in this one to improve to 4-0 on the season.

The Utes completely controlled three-quarters of this game

Coming into the game, the belief was that Utah needed their veteran quarterback to win. The Cowboys are a tough team and the atmosphere can be intimidating to some.

But with a true freshman quarterback (who didn’t find out he was starting until the final minutes before kickoff) Utah went into a raucous Boone Pickens Stadium and completely corralled the energy from the crowd.

With Isaac Wilson leading the way, Utah eventually strung together three extensive drives that led to 10 points between the first and second quarters. He would lead the team on three more scoring drives in the second half.

The Utes defense suffocated the Cowboys’ offense. Ollie Gordon’s production was minimized, while Alan Bowman was so inefficient through the first two quarters that Mike Gundy made a quarterback change of their own at halftime.

That didn’t help matters for Oklahoma State either. For roughly 55 minutes of this game, Utah was in complete control. After one last ditched effort by the Cowboys, the Utes secured a 3-point win on the road.

Total Rush Yards:

Utah – 249
OSU – 48#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/eWXA5FYDVu

— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) September 21, 2024

Utah Football is a team

There’s no denying that Utah Football can be a frustrating experience. But that should not take away from the credit that this team deserves.

This was a statement win for Kyle Whittingham’s team, not only to the rest of the conference but to everyone involved with the program- fans, players, coaches, everybody. Utah has established itself at the top of the conference and is nowhere near playing its best football.

Utah proved today that the team is still bigger than any single individual. There are playmakers on both sides of the ball. The coaches piece together game plans that more often than not, put their players in the best situations possible.

This is a team. Utah prepares as a team. They compete as a team. Utah wins as a team.

4️⃣-0 vibes🙌#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/IzyPiieW87

— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) September 22, 2024

Cam Rising is still the important piece he’s always been

What’s undeniable after today is that Utah Football is a team capable of competing at a very high level.

Make no mistake, Cam Rising is absolutely deserving of all the respect and status that he’s earned.

Projecting this team forward, Rising still plays a significant role in the ceiling of the team this season.

This group has yet to put together a full four-quarter effort. Neither the offense nor the defense has really hit its stride. To reach its best, Utah needs Rising at his best.

And to earn the win as they did today should not be taken for granted, this was a huge victory for Utah Football.

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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