Zach Wilson’s brother went to the bench during the Utah-Houston Big 12 game

A tough freshman season for Isaac Wilson just got even tougher.

Wilson, the younger brother of NFL quarterback Zach Wilson, was named to Utah’s starting lineup in the third game of the season after seventh-year senior Cam Rising injured his throwing hand in a win over Baylor.

Wilson led the Utes to victories over Baylor and Oklahoma State, but has struggled since then. In Utah’s 17-14 loss to Houston On Saturday, the Utes’ fourth straight loss, Wilson was benched in the third quarter in favor of sophomore Brandon Rose.

“We thought it was time to give Brandon a chance,” Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said after the game.

The move did not work for Whittingham. Wilson was much more efficient than Rose, finishing 13 of 22 for 171 yards and a touchdown. Rose was 7 of 15 for 45 yards and an interception.

Wilson was a four-star recruit out of Corner Canyon High School in Utah. He received offers from five Big 12 schools, including BYU. This season he has completed 55.4% of his passes for 1,200 yards, eight touchdowns and eight interceptions.

It has been a precipitous fall for Utah (4-4). The Utes were picked to win the Big 12 in the preseason media poll and were ranked No. 10 in the country heading into their Week 5 game against Arizona. They lost that game 23-10 and haven’t won since.

In their four-game losing streak, the Utes average just 12.5 points and routinely suffer cuts on the floor. A program that prides itself on its physical approach, the Big 12 is proving to be a difficult road for Whittingham’s program.

“It just seems to be a pattern of not doing it every week,” Whittingham said. “And obviously as coaches we have to be better and that starts with me. Every topic we have on the show is on my shoulders. “We’re just in some kind of depression that we can’t seem to get out of.”

Whittingham hoped the change in offensive coordinators (longtime coordinator Andy Ludwig resigned Sunday) would solve Utah’s offensive problems. Clearly it was not like that. His team’s inability to stop the run is probably a bigger concern now.

Houston rushed for 230 yards on 49 carries, an average of 4.7 yards per carry. The Utes are giving up an average of 175 rushing yards per game in their four-game losing streak.

Utah has a bye week to work out its issues before hosting rival BYU on Nov. 9. Houston (3-5) hosts Kansas State (7-1) next week in a nationally televised game on FOX.