Experts agree: Utah needs Cam Rising at Oregon State in Pac-12 Friday game
Utah travels to Corvallis to face Oregon State on Friday night in a big Pac-12 game. Oregon State can’t afford to fall to 0-2 in Pac-12 play after losing to Washington State the week before. The Beavers have zero margin for error in the Pac-12 race. Falling to 0-2 would mean they would have to run the table to have even a slight chance of making the Pac-12 Championship Game on December 1. Running the table would mean Oregon State would have to beat both Oregon and Washington.
Good luck with that.
The Beavers really need to win here and give themselves a head-to-head tiebreaker over Utah if there’s a two- or three-team tie in the standings later in the season.
Right now, indications are — per Utah beat writer Joshua Newman — that Utah quarterback Cam Rising is unlikely to play at Oregon State. He hasn’t been ruled out — as of lunchtime on Thursday — but signs are pointing to Nate Johnson as the probable starter for the Utes.
Our Pac-12 football experts all agree that Rising simply has to be on the field for Utah to have a good chance of winning in Corvallis:
DON SMALLEY, DUCKS WIRE
If Nate Johnson plays instead of Rising, the Utes are going to have a tough time in Reser. OSU was prone to the turnover last week and that would help the Utes. Special teams, having good field position would be a huge bonus. I don’t expect Utah to drive the length of the field and have sustained drives, even with Rising in there. That would be a tough ask for a QB coming off an ACL injury in his first game, even for a player of Rising’s caliber.
ZACHARY NEEL, DUCKS WIRE
Utah has to get Cam Rising healthy. To be honest, though, I think it will have more to do with keeping D.J. Uiagalelei uncomfortable. He’s shown that he isn’t a perfectly accurate QB just yet, and Utah’s defense is good enough to make it a long day for him.
MATT WADLEIGH, TROJANS AND BUFFALOES WIRE
The biggest key to victory for Utah is getting Cam Rising back. With all due respect, Utah’s backups are nowhere near the same level as Rising, and it has shown.
MATT ZEMEK, TROJANS WIRE
Utah needs Cam Rising to win that game in Corvallis. Utah’s offense has been below average, but UCLA — like Baylor and Florida — has a below-average offense and could not take advantage of the Utes’ limitations. Oregon State should be able to score at least 20 points on Friday. Nate Johnson doesn’t inspire confidence after a UCLA game in which Utah’s offense scored only seven points at home. In Corvallis, Utah’s offense will struggle against a motivated OSU defense which just got whipped by Washington State.
MORE CONTEXT ON CAM RISING
I addressed the concept of transparency, medical or otherwise, in the mailbag yesterday. It is spot on. https://t.co/3PKHnb3TYb
— Josh Newman (@Joshua_Newman) September 28, 2023
