Standout quarterback Cameron Rising has had plenty of bad luck, and Utah’s season is teetering on a downward spiral.
The Utes will have Isaac Wilson behind center for a long time. They will look to snap a two-game skid Saturday night when they host TCU in Big 12 action in Salt Lake City.
Rising suffered a season-ending injury to his lower right leg during last weekend’s 27-19 loss to Arizona State. The loss to Rising comes as the Utes (4-2, 1-2) face little trouble being in the postseason playoff mix.
“They have to be brave and they want to fight through some adversity,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. “It’s not like we’re 1-5 and we’re sitting here with a terrible season. We’ve gone a couple of games in a row, and we’re not used to losing two in a row here.”
Rising missed all of last season with a severe left knee injury suffered in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 2, 2023. This season, the seven-year starter missed three games with a hand injury before facing the Sun Devils.
“During his time at Utah, Cam was a great player and leader in our program, and he will obviously be missed,” Whittingham said.
Wilson has passed for 830 yards and six touchdowns this season. However, the freshman has been blocked seven times and has completed just 55.7 percent of his attempts.
Micah Bernard comes off a 129-yard rushing game that marks his fourth 100-yard outing of the season. Bernard has 676 yards and a healthy 6.6 per carry average.
The Horned Frogs (3-3, 1-2) will be fine. Two weeks ago, they lost 30-19 to visiting Houston, a team that had been shut out in their previous two games.
TCU coach Sonny Dykes said his program got back on track at halftime.
“We’ve tried to focus more on the basics,” he said Tuesday. “Playing down forward, obviously better ball protection and passing, all important things. We had a lot of opportunities last week to get some work done, and I thought we had some really good practices and improved.”
The Horned Frogs feature an elite receiver in Jack Bech, who is tied for fifth nationally with 702 receiving yards. He also has seven scores on 39 receptions.
Bech has four 100-yard receptions this season, topped by a 200-yard effort against UCF on Sept. 14.
Quarterback Josh Hoover has completed 68.6 percent of his passes for 2,007 yards and 16 touchdowns, with six interceptions. The yard is ranked fifth nationally.
Utah holds a 5-3 series lead. The programs previously competed in the Western Athletic and Mountain West conferences.
–Field Level Media
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