After second Big 12 loss, is it time for Utah to turn the page at quarterback?

TEMPE, Ariz. — The much-anticipated return of starting quarterback Cam Rising didn’t go as planned for Utah in its 27-19 loss at Arizona State Friday night.

At his best, Rising has led the Utes to back-to-back Pac-12 championships, thrown for over 6,000 career yards and breathed new life into offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig’s offense.

There’s a reason why Utah coach Kyle Whittingham often calls Rising “the ultimate leader.” The veteran signal-caller might not high be on NFL draft boards, but he’s been a good college quarterback, has been the difference-maker in some of the biggest wins in school history and has helped elevate his teammates.

After missing the 2023 season due to knee injury rehab, Rising looked back to his old self in four combined quarters in Utah’s first two games against Southern Utah and Baylor, throwing for 346 yards and seven touchdowns with no interceptions.

But a reported dislocated finger and laceration suffered in Week 2 sent Rising to the bench for the next three weeks as true freshman Isaac Wilson went 3-1 in his absence.

Ahead of his return against Arizona State, the big question centered around how Rising would look in his first game action in a month. He looked fine in pregame warmups, but on Utah’s first drive of the game, he was hit by Arizona State defensive lineman Jeff Clark, who landed on Rising’s right leg.

Immediately, Rising grabbed at his leg and came up limping, and from that point on, he was never the same. Instead of a triumphant return, it was instead another injury for a player who has dealt with more than his fair share of them.

“He got rolled up on. Really a lower leg injury that limited his mobility for the rest of the game, and of course, he’s wearing the glove so he can increase the grip, help the grip on the football. So, yeah, he’s banged up,” Whittingham said.

It was clear Rising wasn’t right, whether it was the leg, the hand or both restricting him from playing at 100%. He gave it his best effort playing through the pain, but his mobility was severely limited, his passes often missed the target, and it was clear he couldn’t plant on his leg the way he needed to.

This wasn’t the Rising of 2022 — or even of the early part of 2024 — he was a shell of his usual self.

Rising finished with a career-low 43% completion percentage and threw three interceptions in one of the worst games of his career. He threw for 209 yards, and at times had some flashes of production, like a 35-yard pass to Dorian Singer near the end of the second quarter, but those moments were few and far between.

At halftime, down by four points, was there a conversation about pulling Rising, who clearly was not healthy and effective, and putting in Wilson?

“No. He wanted to play and he felt very strongly that he wanted to stay in the game. He won a bunch of ball games for us. It was very apparent that he’s not at 100%, but it’s a coaching decision to decide who gives you the best chance to win the game, and that’s who you put in there,” Whittingham said.

To be fair, there’s no guarantee Wilson would have won Utah that game, either — he’s had his fair share of interceptions and red-zone inefficiency — but Rising clearly wasn’t going to be able to will the Utes to a win, the way he’s done so many times, on this night in Tempe.

“I just wasn’t playing well. I think the guys were doing a great job getting open and stuff, and I just wasn’t able to throw the ball and get it to ‘em accurate and (we) just weren’t able to move it because of that,” Rising said.

As Arizona State fans stormed the field following the game, a dejected Utah team walked to its locker room. The second Big 12 Conference loss in a row felt like a crushing blow to a team with lofty preseason expectations of winning its new conference and securing the program’s first-ever trip to the College Football Playoff.

There might be an outside shot, depending on how the league shakes out, of the Utes making the Big 12 championship with two losses, but after watching this team for the last two games, who could honestly think that they are going to survive the rest of the season without another loss?

The issues with Utah go deeper than just the quarterback. The Utes have been outplayed in the trenches, their offensive play-calling has been puzzling at times, they’ve been ineffective in the red zone, they’ve looked lost in coverage at points and their run defense and tackling has been straight-up soft.

The bottom line? This team isn’t playing the brand of football that Utah has become known for.

Of course, Utah isn’t going to give up on its hopes of winning the conference until it is mathematically eliminated and is going to play the quarterback that gives it the best chance to win every game the rest of the way.

That quarterback may be Wilson, depending on the extent of Rising’s leg injury.

“We’ll have a lot more information and a lot more idea of how Cam feels tomorrow and the next day. Usually you can play through those things with adrenaline during the heat of the battle, but it’s the next day or the day after when they really start to manifest how significant it is or isn’t as the case may be, so that decision will be made as we move forward,” Whittingham said of a potential quarterback change.

Even if the leg injury isn’t serious and Rising is healthy, or close to it, there has to be consideration about playing Wilson anyway, especially if the Utes tally another loss.

Rising’s legacy is cemented in Utah history as the quarterback who finally got the program over the hump in the Pac-12, but in six games (seven with a bowl game), his time in Salt Lake City will be up.

Is it time to turn the page to the future and give Wilson more valuable game experience, something that could pay dividends for the 2025 season?