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PULLMAN, Wash. — Utah quarterbacks Cam Rising and Bryson Barnes jogged onto the field together before Thursday night's pivotal game against Washington State.
The duo tossed the ball back and forth as they warmed up for the evening bout. There was nothing unusual about the scene — it's what they've done each game this season — other than Rising had a brace on his right knee and there was a slight limp as he walked.
Even when the players returned to the field with their full pads on in the final warmup of the evening before game time, Rising continued to take the first-team reps — or at least a majority of them. But at some point — Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said it was about 30 minutes before — Rising told the coaching staff he couldn't play that night.
"Just didn't feel like he was right," Whittingham said. "It was Cam's decision, so we respect that.
"If Cam says he can't play, he can't play. There's no questioning him whatsoever, no doubting him whatsoever. He's the last guy that wants to miss a game."
Suddenly, Utah was down it's most dynamic playmaker on offense — one that accounted for two passing touchdowns and three rushing touchdowns in a win against USC two weeks prior — amid injuries that included season-ending types with Brant Kuithe and Chris Curry, and a running back offering without Tavion Thomas and Micah Bernard.
Bernard was an initial scratch from the game due to a lingering injury but suited up and had only three carries for 1 yard.
In the matter of minutes before game time, Utah started a walk-on quarterback, a freshman running back in Jaylon Glover with limited touches this season and a quarterback turned running back in Ja'Quinden Jackson to lead the charge for Utah's offense.
"Obviously, I knew what was at stake, but you've just got to be prepared, treat every game the exact same," Barnes said. "And especially right now, we've got to keep things rolling, especially when we've got new guys coming in, new faces on the field. We've just got to be able to keep the ball rolling and keep getting these wins."
Barnes and company did keep the ball rolling en route to a 21-17 victory over Washington State, but it, too, came with a cost — most notably a late-game injury to tight end Dalton Kincaid after he scored a 5-yard touchdown. The dynamic tight end left the game with a sling on his right arm after sustaining an injury to his shoulder. His was the biggest of a night that Whittingham said saw at least five players leave due to injury.
"Proud of our guys," Whittingham said. "We had guys step up and perform when they needed to, and fortunate that we have a couple extra days off again this week with the game on Thursday and not again till next Saturday. That'll give us time to hopefully heal up and get some of these guys back. So we'll see what happens."
Add to that a second-half targeting call to safety R.J. Hubert that will keep him out of the first half of Utah's home game against Arizona — barring an appeal to the league under new NCAA rules — and the team is significantly hampered going into the final stretch of the season.
Thursday night was a "team win," senior linebacker Mohamoud Diabate said, which got a hearty agreement from his three other teammates with him after the game. In their eyes, it was a full-team effort where everyone worked together to get a win and maintain its standing as one of the top teams in the conference — even if it feels like it's being held together by rubber bands and duck tape.
And it's hard to argue with Diabate's assessment; it's a team that has been forced to dig deep to get a win.
"Just shows that we have a next-man-up mentality," added linebacker Karene Reid. "We're gonna face more adversity, there's gonna be more injuries down the road. And it says a lot about the character of this team, that we're here — we're in it for the team. So, yeah, it shows a lot about our character."
"A gutsy performance by guys, found a way to win, which is obviously the bottom line," Whittingham said.
Utah remains a team in the hunt in the Pac-12 title race, but as the season progresses it will likely need another effort like Thursday night, where the team figuratively — and in some cases literally — limps to the finish line of the season. It will continue to be a "team win" as long as several players are hampered by injury.
"You always talk about being prepared for when that time comes, and this time the time came. And so I definitely say, I mean, you've got to prepare every week as normal, but this time was a little different, because this time I actually had to step on the field and actually start," Barnes said. "So, I mean, definitely learning the mindset of things. You can always be prepared for the moment, but until that moment comes, you're not going to know what it's like. And so being able to get that experience, it's definitely going to propel me forward."
Like Barnes, it will have to propel other guys forward, too. Utah has no other choice.
