3 takeaways on how No. 12 Utah picked up a critical road win at No. 14 Oklahoma State in their Big 12 opener

What kind of impression did No. 12 Utah make in its Big 12 opener at No. 14 Oklahoma State on Saturday?
Nobody is going to out-physical a Kyle Whittingham squad.
The Utes shut down the Cowboys for much of the day before hanging on late amidst an Oklahoma State rally, winning 22-19 at Boone Pickens Stadium in a matchup of two top 15 teams.
Here are three takeaways from the Utah win that moves it to 4-0 on the year.
There was speculation that Cam Rising could return to the field against Oklahoma State after injuring his throwing hand two weeks ago against Baylor.
Turns out, the Utes didn’t need him. Not on this day.
Rising warmed up, but it was Isaac Wilson who got his second straight start.
Wilson was the best quarterback on the field Saturday.
The true freshman completed 17 of 29 passes for 207 yards and a touchdown. He threw two interceptions, but that’s a bit deceiving — both picks came on phenomenal plays by OSU safety Trey Rucker.
No, what stood out from Wilson’s day was the poise and confidence he showcased throughout.
With the win, Wilson became the first true freshman quarterback in Utah history to lead the Utes to a victory over an Associated Press ranked opponent.
On a day in which yards came at a premium for much of the first half, the Utes eventually took over and really started asserting their will behind Wilson’s leadership.
The Utes showed confidence in their young signal caller, going for it on fourth down five times and converting on four of them, including the last four.
Wilson made a decisive, critical 4-yard carry on one of those fourth-down plays, bowling over a defender on the run that picked up a first down at the Oklahoma State 20 in the second quarter.
Three plays later, Utah scored on a 1-yard Brant Kuithe touchdown run, and the Utes never trailed again.
Wilson also ripped off a 48-yard run in the second half — he finished with 41 rushing yards on six carries after sacks were included — while showing wisdom in his passing acumen as the game progressed.
If Utah needs Wilson for longer — if Rising still can’t play next week — Utah should have all the confidence in its freshman.
Through three and a half quarters, the Utes put on a masterclass in how to shut down an opposing offense.
The Cowboys, after falling behind 22-3 with 6:21 to play, finally showed signs of life on offense after that, scoring two touchdowns and a pair of two-point conversions to make it 22-19 with 1:47 to play.
Utah, though, made the Oklahoma State offense look ineffective for much of the day. The Cowboys ended up with 285 yards of total offense, and 127 of those came on their final two drives.
Alan Bowman, the Cowboys’ seventh-year quarterback, was benched at halftime after struggling mightily in the first half, though his replacement, Garret Rangel, lasted just over a quarter before Bowman returned to the game.
Bowman ended up completing 16 of 33 passes for 202 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, though he had just 89 of those yards at halftime.
Bowman’s second interception — a beautiful pick by Elijah Davis — set up the Utes’ final touchdown, and it turned out it was needed.
The Utes also bottled up Doak Walker Award winning running back Ollie Gordon II, who had 42 yards on 11 carries and was never a factor in the game.
Oklahoma State was 5 of 18 on third downs, facing a lot of third and longs as Utah kept the Cowboys from finding any sort of rhythm.
That was reflected in the number of three and outs Oklahoma State had. In 15 possessions, the Cowboys went three and out on seven of them, including three of their first four possessions of the game and then four of their first five drives in the second half.
At one point, Utah forced Oklahoma State to punt the ball five straight times to start the second half. During that stretch, the Cowboys had 34 yards of total offense.
Micah Bernard and Dorian Singer paced the Utes’ complementary efforts offensively to help out their freshman quarterback.
Bernard had the most impressive day of the bunch, rushing for a career-high 182 yards to power a Utah running attack that put up 249 yards.
His most impressive run was a 61-yarder in the third quarter, wherein he broke multiple tackles to spark a field goal-scoring drive and get the Utes out of their own end of the field.
That field goal gave Utah a two-score lead.
Singer played like a WR1, making several tough catches while finishing with 95 yards on seven receptions. His third-down catch in which he pinned the ball on his helmet was the flashiest — and set up Utah to go for it on a fourth down, which worked and led to a field goal — but he had big gains all day.
There was also a 25-yard grab that he snagged just before it hit the ground for his first catch, and he brought in a high pass for a first down in the third quarter to help keep the Utah offense rolling.
Utah finished the game with 456 yards of total offense and converted 4 of 5 first downs while controlling the clock by possessing the ball for more than 42 minutes.