TEMPE, Ariz. -Cam Rising can’t catch a break.

After missing the last four weeks due to an unusual injury to his throwing hand after hitting a hydration table on the sideline of Rice-Eccles Stadium, the seventh-year quarterback found himself in a similar situation on Friday.

Rising got its start in Tempe after a weekly will-he, won’t-he scenario over the past month.

But a minute into the game, Rising was rolled up by an Arizona State defender, who landed on Rising’s right leg during a tackle, forcing the QB to fall back and bend his leg in an unusual manner. After breaking free from the tackle and rolling away, Rising grabbed his leg but limped back to the line of scrimmage.

Rising played the entire match – his first full game since 2022 – with the injury, but it was clear he wasn’t himself. He couldn’t get on his right foot properly, couldn’t get the timing right with his receivers (high and mostly low passes) and lacked his usual confidence and precision under center.

“Yeah, he got rolled up – that lower leg injury that limited his mobility for the rest of the game,” Whittingham said. And of course he’s wearing the glove so we can increase the grip – improve the grip on the football – so yeah, he’s beat up.

“It was very clear that he’s not 100%. … You can see the rust; it was three weeks off, four weeks – whatever it has been – but he’s a great quarterback and he’ll bounce back.”

Rising finished the day throwing for 209 yards and three interceptions on 16 of 37 passing.

However, it was clear early on that Rising wasn’t 100%, but Utah opted to stick with the veteran quarterback despite frustrations with the offense. Rising wanted to stay on the field, Whittingham said, so there was no conversation — at least not one publicly — about a move to freshman Isaac Wilson.

“No, he wanted to play and he felt very strongly that he wanted to stay in the game. He won a lot of ball games for us. But it’s a coaching decision to decide who gives you the best chance to win.” the game, and that’s who you put into it,” Whittingham said. “And, like I said, Cam has been great for us in the past.”

In the past.

Through no fault of his own, Rising wasn’t healthy the past two seasons and Utah was forced to pivot. And while Rising’s legacy is cemented in his back-to-back championship runs in the Pac-12 for the Utes, there’s a chance his time as the team’s starter has reached the end of the road.

Surprised Cam Rising didn’t break his ankle pic.twitter.com/vV9DYdcM8Q

— #16 THE REAL YOU (@therealutahutes) October 12, 2024

Whittingham said the extent of Rising’s injury is not fully known, but the next two days will reveal a lot about his future with the offense.

“We’ll have a lot more information, and a lot more idea of ​​how Cam feels tomorrow and the next day,” Whittingham said. “Usually you can play those things with adrenaline in the heat of the moment, but it’s the next day or the day after that they really start to manifest how important it is or isn’t, as the case may be.”

Depending on the severity of his injury — not to mention Utah’s chances of a Big 12 getting smaller by the day — there’s a chance Utah hands the offense to Wilson. Regardless of Rising’s health, Utah needs to look to the future, even if the freshman isn’t completely polished yet.

“That decision will be made as we move forward,” Whittingham said of the future of the QB position.

The decision comes down to whether Rising – and all of his injuries this season, including an injury to his throwing hand and now an undisclosed injury to his right leg – is the better option to potentially get Utah back into the Big 12 title race, or to turn around the offense was turned over to a less experienced freshman who is fully healthy and has already won two games.

Whittingham already said the conversation would be had if Rising wasn’t cleared as the season progressed, but his recent injury — and back-to-back losses at Utah — change the equation.

Regardless, Utah’s offense has more problems than anyone under center. Utah continues to lack execution in the red zone, and the play-calling remains suspect in all parts of the field.

“We were coached tonight, there’s no doubt about that. We all have to figure out what we can do to get better – as coaches, as players, how we can improve,” Whittingham said. said. “We know our shortcomings – I think that’s positive – but it seems we haven’t been able to overcome them.

“A conversation very similar to what we had after the Arizona game: we got rushed, we were terrible in the red zone, lost turnover margin, missed a bunch of tackles. And so, unfortunately, and very disappointingly, it’s the same storyline “And as long as we have our problems in the red zone, we may not win another game this season until we solve it, that’s how important it is.”

Beyond just the quarterback, Utah still has a lot of questions to answer — and not a lot of time to answer them before things escalate even further.