Utah's Rising leaves Baylor after victory; injury said to be “not serious”

Utah quarterback Cam Rising left the field late in the second quarter of the Utes' 23-12 win over Baylor on Saturday due to a hand injury and did not return.

The injury occurred after Rising was pushed into a row of water coolers on the Baylor sideline, but did not result in a penalty for “unnecessary roughness against the passer.” Rising was later seen on the sideline in civilian clothes with the ring and middle fingers of his right throwing hand bandaged.

After the win, Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said he couldn't make a definitive statement about Rising's fitness for next week's game against Utah State, but didn't sound overly concerned.

“I was just told it wasn't really serious,” Whittingham said. “You know what I know now. It wasn't really serious and I can't describe to you exactly what happened, but he could come back this week. We'll see.”

Before his departure, Rising completed 8 of 14 passes for 92 yards and two touchdowns as Utah built a 23-0 lead. He was replaced by true freshman Isaac Wilson, the younger brother of NFL quarterback Zach Wilson, who completed 4 of 9 passes for 40 yards.

Rising, a seventh-year senior, missed all of last year due to a serious knee injury sustained in the Rose Bowl the previous season.

Rising's return from injury this year is a major reason Utah entered the season as one of the favorites to win the Big 12 in his first year in the conference. He led the Utes to Pac-12 titles in 2021 and 2022 and was named to the All-Conference first team in 2021.