Isaac Wilson has had to step up as Utah football’s starting QB this season.
Utah quarterback Isaac Wilson has seen a bit more playing time than he probably expected during the 2024 college football season, filling in for the injury-plagued starter, Cam Rising.
Wilson has played several games as Utah’s starter, and so far this season, he’s thrown for more than 1,200 yards, plus 10 touchdowns. Utah isn’t the team it was expected to be this season without Rising, but Wilson is a decent backup passer.
His rise has led some fans to wonder: Is Utah’s Isaac Wilson related to Broncos quarterback Zach Wilson?
Yes! They’re brothers.
After playing for BYU, Zach Wilson is now in Denver after his first three NFL season were spent with the New York Jets.
Zach Wilson is 25 years old, while Isaac Wilson is a 19-year-old true freshman.
Utah fans are mad at the refs for bad calls in Saturday’s BYU game. USC fans noted how little sympathy Utah fans had for the Trojans two years ago in Salt Lake City.
On Saturday night, a controversial ending in the rivalry football game between BYU and Utah sparked a strong reaction from USC fans, for one very obvious set of reasons.
Trailing 21-19 in the game’s final two minutes, BYU faced a 4th and 10 at its own nine-yard line. With the Cougars out of timeouts, a failure to convert would end the game.
Utah sacked BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff, causing the Cougars to turn the ball over on downs. However, the Utes were called for a highly questionable holding penalty, extending the drive. BYU then drove down the field and kicked a game-winning field goal to emerge with a 22-21 triumph.
After the game, Utah Athletic Director Mark Harlan ripped into the officials, claiming that the Utes had the game “stolen” from them. Many Utah fans followed suit.
With the Trojans leading 14-0 late in the first quarter, the USC defense intercepted a pass thrown by Utah quarterback Cam Rising. However, defensive lineman Stanley Ta’ufo’ou was called for a highly questionable roughing the passer penalty, giving Utah the ball back. The Utes would score a touchdown on the next play.
The penalty completely changed the course of the game. Instead of getting the ball back up by 14 points, USC’s lead was cut to one score. The Trojans would go on to lose 43-42 on a Rising 2-point conversion run in the final minute. There was another dubious roughing-the-passer penalty called on the Trojans in the fourth quarter which kept a Utah drive alive. What Utah fans felt on Saturday night, USC fans felt in October of 2022.
At the time, Utah fans were not particularly willing to listen to the USC crowd complaining about the officiating. With the tables now turned and the Utes being on the wrong side of a call, USC fans were not about to sit around and listen to their sob stories.
While Saturday obviously won’t erase the outcome from two years ago, it is nice to see that what comes around, goes around.
Washington or UCLA — which Pac-12 football program is second-best after USC?
Each Monday, I appear on the weekly Trojan Conquest USC live show at The Voice of College Football with Mark Rogers and Trojans Wire editor Matt Zemek. This week, we dove into all-time Pac-12 football rankings.
The rankings, based on several metrics such as all-time winning percentage, bowl victories, conference championships, and national championships, were heavily skewed in our favor at USC, as one might expect.
After discussing USC’s dominance, we shifted our focus to the battle between Washington and UCLA for the second spot. It’s close!
Matt Zemek highlighted UCLA’s dominant teams under legendary Bruin coach Red Sanders. Sanders’ Bruin teams were some of the most successful in UCLA football history, winning three Pacific Coast Conference titles, a couple Rose Bowl games, and a national championship in 1954. His overall record of 66–19–1 (.773) and a winning record against the Trojans (6-3) give Sanders a lofty spot among all Bruin coaches across all sports, most likely second to the immortal John Wooden.
Another notable coach was Tommy Prothro, who led the Bruins from 1965 to 1970. During his tenure, the Bruins achieved a remarkable 41-18-3 record, including a miraculous comeback victory against the No. 1-ranked Michigan State Spartans in the 1966 Rose Bowl. This victory earned the Bruins the nickname “Gutty Little Bruins” due to their underdog status and smaller size compared to their opponents.
Terry Donahue’s long tenure as UCLA coach from 1976 to 1995 also contributed significantly to the Bruins’ success. Under Donahue’s leadership, the Bruins won seven consecutive bowl games and began an eight-game winning streak against the Trojans, which lasted throughout the 1990s. He retired with a winning record against the Men of Troy (10-9-1). Donahue’s tenure also intensified the Crosstown Rivalry, with both teams fiercely competing for the Victory Bell, making it one of the most competitive periods in the rivalry’s history. His 151 victories are by far the most for a Bruin football coach.
Throughout history, the Washington Huskies have enjoyed remarkable success under the leadership of legendary coaches such as Gil Dobie, Don James, and Chris Petersen. Coach Dobie achieved an incredible feat, remaining undefeated in his nine seasons with the Huskies, boasting a record of 58-0-3. The Huskies later surpassed this achievement by extending their unbeaten streak to an astonishing 64 games, scoring 1,930 points while allowing only 118 to their opponents.
Decades later, Don James, also known as the “Dawgfather,” led the Huskies to their only national championship in 1991 with one of the most formidable defenses in Pac-10 history. More recently, Chris Petersen and Kalen Deboer guided Washington into the College Football Playoffs in 2016 and 2023, respectively.
Matt Entz could be on the verge of landing a big commitment at USC.
National recruiting services predict that four-star linebacker Matai Tagoa’i will commit to USC. Both Scott Schrader of WeAreSC and Greg Biggins from 247Sports have both predicted that Tagoa’i will commit to the Trojans.
Biggins believes Tagoa’i is one of the top linebackers in the country. He added that “At 6-4, 195 pounds, he has a projectable frame and does a little of everything well. He’s an explosive athlete with a quick get-off and can really get around the edge. He has very good closing speed and can run down plays from behind. He’s a fluid athlete and looks natural dropping in coverage and plays with a nice edge in his game as well.”
Tagoa’i had an unofficial visit to USC last weekend. He returned to campus Thursday to check out practice. He has official visits lined up for Washington in May and two more in June with Utah and Texas.
Doug Belk and Eric Henderson made a significant impact last weekend by securing five commitments from Georgia, Florida, and Texas. Now, it seems that Matt Entz wants to join in by securing the first California commitment for the class.
Elite class of 2025 tight end recruit Bear Tenney names his top five schools
Elite tight end recruit Bear Tenney has named his top five schools. Who is Bear Tenney?
247Sports ranks Tenney as a three-star recruit in the class of 2025. The 6-foot-5, 230-pound tight end plays high school football for Lehi High School in Lehi, Utah.
The three-star tight end recruit is the No. 382 player in the class of 2025. The Lehi star is ranked as the No. 23 tight end prospect in the nation and the fourth-ranked recruit in Utah.
Who are Bear Tenney’s top five schools? When does he plan to visit each of his top schools?
Northwestern did what Alex Grinch could not: Contain Utah.
Alex Grinch is no longer employed by USC. He will not coach another game at USC, including the upcoming Holiday Bowl against Louisville. He no longer has anything to do with USC football, and yet his overall Trojan track record took one last night on Saturday night.
Even though Grinch wasn’t coaching on Saturday night — he might have been Christmas shopping, for all we know — the former USC defensive coordinator endured one last taste of embarrassment.
In the Las Vegas Bowl against Northwestern, the pig farmer who embarrassed Grinch and USC got smacked around. Bryson Barnes and Utah rode the struggle bus in Vegas.
Against Northwestern, Barnes threw for just 55 yards. Against USC, he threw for 235 yards.
Against Northwestern, Barnes didn’t throw a touchdown pass. Against USC, he threw three.
Against Northwestern, the Utah offense managed just 211 yards. Against USC, 482 yards.
In both games — Northwestern and USC — Utah held the ball between 34 and 35 minutes, so it’s not as though time of possession or overall opportunities to score were dramatically different. In fact, Utah’s defense allowed just 14 points to Northwestern. This should have been an easier game for Utah to win compared to USC, and yet the Utes lost because their offense was stopped cold. It’s a final sign of just how bad Grinch was at USC.
The Utah Utes were playing shorthanded all season long, primarily at quarterback. Cam Rising never took the field for Kyle Whittingham’s team, leaving Bryson Barnes and Nate Johnson — mostly Barnes — to handle the offense.
One of the things which attracted USC to new defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn is that when Lynn’s UCLA defense went up against Utah’s limited offense, Lynn pounced on the opportunity. UCLA’s defense allowed only seven points to Utah’s offense. Utah scored 14 points, but seven of them were on a pick-six thrown by quarterback Dante Moore, who has since transferred to the Oregon Ducks. That 14-7 Utah win over UCLA was a selling point for D’Anton Lynn.
Utah’s offense looked a lot like that UCLA game when it played the Las Vegas Bowl against Northwestern on Saturday night. Bryson Barnes and the Utes’ offense were smothered in this game. They didn’t score in the first three quarters and managed only one touchdown for the game. Utah’s defense was — as usual — excellent, limiting Northwestern to just 14 points.
Utah’s offense was not able to exceed that modest point total. Northwestern 14, Utah 7.
Utah will have Cam Rising for 2024 in the Big 12 Conference. USC will be glad to not face Rising ever again (unless the teams somehow meet in a 2024 bowl game).
What are your takeaways from Colorado’s season finale?
As they have for most of the season, the Colorado Buffaloes fought until the bitter end on Saturday in a narrow 23-17 loss to the Utah Utes.
The Buffs finished the year 3-5 in one-score games to wrap up head coach Deion Sanders’ first season at CU.
As an old adage says, a rebuilding football team goes from losing big to losing small to winning small to winning big. Colorado was blown out frequently last season but was much more competitive in most of its losses this year. Will the wins start to come in 2024? Only time will tell.
Here are my takeaways from Colorado’s final football game of the Pac-12 era:
Colorado came up just short in its final game of the year
Deion Sanders’ first season as head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes was quite the ride.
Although many will be quick to criticize how things ended, the Buffs made significant progress this year and are headed in the right direction. As Coach Prime said following Colorado’s season finale against Utah on Saturday, there is hope in Boulder.
Colorado pulled out a trick play that resulted in an early touchdown against Utah
Jimmy Horn Jr. enjoyed an impressive first half in Colorado’s season finale at Utah.
With Xavier Weaver, Shedeur Sanders and several other key players out, Horn has been asked to do a little more for the Buffs this Saturday. In the game’s first 30 minutes, the former South Florida wide receiver caught two passes for 18 yards and also returned a kickoff 41 yards.
Horn’s best moment came midway through the second quarter when he caught a backward pass from Ryan Staub and slung it downfield to running back Dylan Edwards for a 30-yard touchdown.
Check out some of the best social media reactions to Colorado’s successful trick play:
