Another week, another big-time injury to monitor. Utah football has been missing Cam Rising through the first week-plus of the season and everyone is keeping their eye on him ahead of a huge matchup at Baylor.
The Bears, too, have questions at quarterback with Blake Shapen suffering an MCL injury in the opener which will keep him out for Saturday’s game against Utah.
But will Rising play in Waco today?
According to Pete Thamel, Rising traveled with the team to Waco but won’t be dressing for the game so it’s up to backup quarterback Bryson Barnes to get the job done again.
Utah QB Cam Rising traveled to Waco with the team today but is not going to dress for the game. He's out for the second-straight week. Bryson Barnes starting w/a change-of-pace from Nate Johnson is the plan again for Utah. https://t.co/gvaklyPKJM
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) September 9, 2023
This was always the likely scenario. Kyle Whittingham was pretty tight-lipped about Rising’s status ahead of the game this week, saying that he was progressing nicely and there was a possibility that he’d play against Baylor.
Usually that means the coach is trying to make game-planning harder for the opponent.
No Cam Rising? No problem
In the opener, Utah found out right before the game that Rising was officially out and Barnes was able to cover for him and impress against the Florida Gators. He utilized his impressive dual-threat skill set to take down the SEC foe in Salt Lake City.
Can he do it again on Saturday afternoon against a Baylor team that might be reeling after a season-opening loss to Texas State while also missing its starting quarterback for this one?
We’ll find out soon enough.
But there will be no Cam Rising today, folks.