Utah QB Cam Rising is Back, Back Again
Utah Utes 7th year Senior quarterback, Cam Rising, is expected to start this upcoming Friday as the Utes travel to Tempe to take on upstart Arizona State.
The report comes per Action Network’s Brett McMurphy:
Going now into week 7 of the season, Rising hasn't taken an active snap since the first half of a week two victory VS Baylor.
That game saw Rising tackled into the Baylor bench while being pursued on the sideline in which he collided with the water cooler cart sustaining an injury on his throwing hand.
The Utes star had just returned from missing the entirety of the 2023 season with a significant knee injury and was once again relegated to the sideline.
Utah faithful will be happy to see the return of the grizzled vet as Utah finds themselves in a unique situation.
The Utes were selected by the Big 12 media panel and many in the college football world as the most likely to win the Big 12 conference and ultimately obtain a playoff spot.
The expectations for the season loom large, and after winning the first two games without Rising against Utah State and fellow projected Big 12 contender, Oklahoma State, things were still trending in the right direction.
But Utah’s last game changed things up rather quickly and very well may have forced Rising into “Hurry up mode” as the Arizona Wildcats came into Salt Lake City and beat Utah 23-10 two weeks ago.
One loss, especially to a respectable Arizona team, doesn’t seem like much of a big deal on paper until you realize that Utah’s newest conference, the Big 12, is wide wide open.
5 teams are currently undefeated in conference play, with room for multiple teams to claim the crown and little room for slip ups.
Whether it’s #11 Iowa State (5-0, 2-0), in state rival #14 BYU (5-0,2-0), or a team like Colorado (4-1, 2-0) or Texas Tech (5-1, 3-0), the #16 Utes (4-1, 1-1) find themselves with the same conference record as a UCF or a Cincinnati or even an…. Arizona State.
The margin for error seems paper thin in the Big 12 and Utah may likely not be able to afford another blip in the radar, at least if playoffs are the ultimate goal.
Thus being able to play your absolute best players in these big time games could be essential to making sure this season goes as planned.
True freshman, Isaac Wilson, finished the Baylor game under center and would start the other three games afterwards posting totals of:
68 completions to 122 attempts for a 55.7 completion percentage.
830 yards (166 yards per game).
6 touchdowns.
7 interceptions.
6.8 yards an attempt, 12.2 yards a completion.
Cam Rising in his game and a half this season has totals of:
18 completions on 29 attempts for a 62.1 completion percentage.
346 yards (173 yards a game).
5 touchdowns.
0 interceptions.
11.9 yards an attempt, 19.2 yards per completion.
It should shock no one that the Utes offense works a bit better under the guy who threw for over 3,000 yards and 26 touchdowns his last full season.
Wilson will be a delight to watch as his career unfurls, but the boys in the Block U will be hoping to not only welcome Cam Rising back for what could be a special season, but to see him at full strength.
They’ll need all the help they can get as Arizona State has flashed major potential this season and has far exceeded expectations going 4-1 to this point with an undefeated record (3-0) in Tempe.
At the very least, Ute fans shouldn’t expect the 55-3 result from last years tilt between the two.
Regardless, Utah stands as a 6 point favorite for tomorrows game per CBS with kickoff scheduled for 8:30 PM on ESPN.