Kyle Whittingham is proud of his team’s resolve after No. 12 Utah improved to 2-0 with a gritty 20-13 victory at Baylor.

It was the second consecutive game this season Utah played without quarterback Cam Rising, who is still recovering from an ACL injury he sustained during last season’s Rose Bowl.

Utah rallied to score 2 touchdowns in the final 2 minutes to earn the road win. Quarterback Nate Johnson rushed for a 7-yard score to tie the game with 1:59 remaining. Then Jaylon Glover’s 11-yard rushing touchdown iced the victory with 17 seconds to go.

“Our culture is whatever it takes to win. It doesn’t matter. Some weeks it’s going to be more reliant on 1 phase than the other. That’s just part of the deal,” Whittingham said. “You can’t complain or whine or point fingers. That only leads to compounding the problems.”

Rising passed for 3,034 yards, 26 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions last season. Utah employed both Johnson and Bryson Barnes at quarterback against Baylor.

“I think we’ve got a great group that understands if the offense isn’t clicking then the defense has to carry the load. Some weeks it’s vice versa,” Whittingham said. “The first 2 games it just happens to be the defense that’s had to carry the load.”

Utah’s defense forced 2 interceptions from Baylor quarterback Sawyer Robertson and limited the Bears to 3 points in the second half.

“Had we not played as well on defense throughout the entire game at Baylor that last flurry would’ve made no difference because the game would’ve been out of hand,” Whittingham said. “Credit the defense for keeping it close and credit the offense for scoring when we had to.”

Utah will aim for a 3-0 record when they host Weber State on Sept. 16 (2 p.m. EST/Pac-12 Network).