Was the tackle that injured the quarterback a penalty?

At least for a moment, Utah football fans' worst fears came true: Utes quarterback Cam Rising had to play in civilian clothes due to an injury, this time a problem with his throwing hand.

Saturday's scare came after Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham spent the entire offseason explaining to Rising and anyone else who would listen that the priority was to protect the team's starting quarterback.

If Rising is healthy, the Utes have a chance to beat anyone, and a Big 12 title would put Utah in the new 12-team College Football Playoff bracket. With Rising's status unclear after he left Saturday's win over Baylor in the first half, things could get more complicated.

So how does Utah's head coach – after many pleas for Rising to stay healthy – evaluate the quarterback's efforts to protect himself?

Did he do everything he could to avoid unnecessary hits?

“Not everything,” Whittingham said. “But that's the way he is. He's so ambitious. He's a fierce competitor. … We'd like to see him be even more cautious and more conscious to stay out of harm's way. But it's difficult when you have a guy that ambitious.”

Utah's head coach was also unhappy with the blow that injured seventh-year quarterback Rising for another reason.

Over the weekend, Whittingham watched the replay of the tackle that sent the Utes quarterback out of the game and said he believed there should have been a penalty.

“If I was the referee calling that punch, I would have called it,” Whittingham said. “It looked like the punch was definitely in bounds. And as it continued, it looked like there was an arm extension and maybe a little extra push. I'm not going to complain or moan about it, but if I was refereeing right there, I would have thrown the flag.”

Rising avoided the pressure in the game and attempted to throw the ball away before running out of bounds with just under two minutes left in the second quarter.

His extra effort ended with Baylor defensive lineman Trevan Ma'ae throwing him into the water cooler on Baylor's sideline, injuring two fingers on his right hand and putting him out of action for the rest of the game.

It wasn't the first time this season that Rising found themselves in danger.

In Utah's game against Southern Utah two weeks ago, Rising took several hits late in the second quarter.

“I'm not excited about it,” Ludwig said last week of Rising's hit. “He has to hook, slide and protect himself. We always talk about protecting the ball, protecting the team and protecting the quarterback.”

“We don't want to lose that position. But the other end of the spectrum would be that he's gained a lot of confidence by taking those hits and getting back up. But we're going to try to minimize those. He wants to be here for the long haul. So I expect him to improve in terms of his self-protection.”

While it's still unclear whether or not Rising will play this week, the prognosis of his injury appears to be positive. ESPN 700 reported that X-rays of Rising's hand came back negative. Whittingham did not provide any updates on his status Monday, but after the win over the Bears, he stated that Rising's injury does not appear to be serious.

If Rising is unable to play, freshman quarterback Isaac Wilson will likely start against the Aggies. He struggled in his first two appearances, completing 11 of 20 passes for 104 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.

If Rising is out for an extended period of time, there is cause for concern about Utah's offense, especially in the passing game.

“When Cam's in, there's nothing to worry about,” Whittingham said. “If Cam could have stayed in, we would have kept throwing, I think the numbers would have been about right. When Isaac came in, especially in the second half, we were just trying to come away with the win and do our best to protect the ball.”

The Utes head coach is aware of the importance of Rising.

With Rising out for the entire year, Utah's offense finished second to last in the Pac-12 in 2023, just ahead of an Arizona State team that went 3-9. It was the same in 2024. After Rising and the Utes built a big lead over Baylor in the first half, Utah went the rest of the game without its starting quarterback and held no points.

As No. 12 seed Utah (2-0) prepares to face Utah State (1-1) on Saturday at 2:30 p.m., Whittingham and the rest of the team continue to show confidence in Wilson.

“He (Isaac Wilson) has played in one total college football game — one half before last week and one half last week,” Whittingham said. “I think he's going to continue to improve. We certainly believe that and have a lot of confidence in his development. He's just not quite ready to go out there and throw the ball 45 times, especially against a team like Baylor. Just from his development, he's not quite there yet.”

But Rising is their ticket to the CFP.

Ultimately, Whittingham knows it. The fans know it. And the whole program knows it.

The Utes cannot do this if he is wearing civilian clothes.