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SALT LAKE CITY — As Utah quarterback Cameron Rising stretched the ball out at the goal line on a fourth down in a locked battle against Florida in Week 1, the end result was a turnover on downs as the refs ruled his stretch short.
Rising's goal-line attempt was not the ultimate decider in a game Utah eventually lost, but it was a critical play nonetheless and one the kept the Utes from an opening week win. There was no doubt in the coaching staff, though, that Rising was the right person to make the play, regardless of the end result.
On Saturday, with the game on the line and Utah trailing by 7 points to a high-powered USC offense, Kyle Whittingham and Andy Ludwig, once again, put their trust in Rising.
The Utes faced a fourth-and-1 situation and the game's result hanging in the balance with less than a minute left to play in a raucous and sold-out Rice-Eccles Stadium. Just like he did against Florida, Ludwig schemed up a QB keeper call for Rising to get the score.
Tight end Dalton Kincaid motioned behind the line toward Rising and then cut up when the ball was snapped to be his quarterback's lead blocker. Rising followed his man and found pay dirt on the other side.
And with no doubt of what the play-call would be, Rising followed up his goal-line score with a game-winning 2-point conversion run as Rice-Eccles Stadium exploded in cheers. Their quarterback had just laid it all out for the team and put Utah in a position to win after it faced a 14-0 deficit to start the game.
The junior quarterback ended the night throwing for 424 yards and two touchdowns on 30-of-44 passing, and also added 60 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 11 carries. He even caught a pass from receiver Devaughn Vele for 9 yards to put Utah in position for a score.
"Cam Rising: competitor, warrior, you name it, he's a champion," Whittingham said.
It was a night to remember and was arguably the Ventura, California, native's best game under center for the Utes — even with his 2021 success where he led Utah to its first Pac-12 championship and a Rose Bowl appearance.
Rising's night was the first time since Oct. 15, 2005 — 17 years to the day — that a Utah quarterback had thrown for over 400 yards in a game. The last to do it was Brian Johnson against San Diego State (417 yards). Rising's previous high was a 306-yard night against USC last season when he had three touchdowns on 22-of-28 passing.
"Well, it's great to have a high-powered offense, which is what we have," Whittingham said. "I mean, it all starts with Cam."
"I mean, I don't play quarterback, but I think it looked good from where I was standing," Vele joked, when talking about Rising's night. "I just love his leadership; he's always bringing the group together, and that's what we need on the team. Especially when we're going through adversity, having that guy that can be vocal and bringing other guys is what we need in tough situations."
It all amounted to a gutsy win for Utah against USC, the school's last game at Rice-Eccles Stadium as a member of the Pac-12. But Rising wasn't the only star on offense Saturday night.
Rising targeted eight different receivers Saturday, but it was Kincaid that put on a show for the home team.
Kincaid was thrust into a larger role on offense when Rising's No. 1 target, Brant Kuithe, sustained a season-ending injury against Arizona State weeks ago, but Utah had yet to involve Kincaid in the offense to the extent that Whittingham would have liked.
That all changed when the senior tight end became an unstoppable threat to the Trojans. Kincaid finished the night catching all 16 targets thrown his way from Rising, including a toe-tapping grab on the sideline that kept Utah's offense alive, en route to 237 receiving yards for the tight end.
Kincaid's night was just one reception short of the single-game FBS record for a tight end, according to ESPN Stats & Info, and was easily the highest production for a Utah tight end in school history.
"You see what he did tonight when he touches the ball like that, he makes plays and he extends them, and he's a rat player, so he can do it all," Rising said of Kincaid. "So we've just got to make sure that we're getting him the ball.
"When you've got a guy that's just battling and doing everything that he can, it makes you want to go that much harder. He's a guy that just has a knack for catching the ball, so you've got to force him the ball on some situations."
All Kincaid could say about the effort was, "It's pretty fun."
Fun indeed for the fans in attendance.
"The toughness and the guts and the grit; the sheer grit and determination of our football team and continue to hang in there was — it was just a joy to coach those guys; I love coaching this team and proud to be associated with them," Whittingham said.
In a season where the Utes defense has struggled to consistently contain opposing offenses, it's the connection of Rising and Kincaid that has Utah's offense firing on all cylinders and still in contention for another chance to appear in the Pac-12 title game.
