Here’s who stepped up for the Utes in Cam Rising’s absence. And here’s who didn’t.

Cam Rising pumped his left fist in unison with the beats from Utah’s band, while wearing a wide grin on his face.

The seventh-year quarterback was in high spirits, as he gathered around his teammates and sang Utah’s alma mater on a warm September afternoon at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

But it’s Rising’s right hand that conducts the Utes’ offense. And the starting quarterback had two fingers enveloped in bright red tape after being injured from a hit that tumbled him out of bounds and into Baylor’s water jugs late in the first half.

Despite initial fear for Rising’s health, Utah coach Kyle Whittingham had a message of hope after No. 11 Utah (2-0) defeated Baylor (1-1) 23-12 on Saturday. The mood of Utah’s quarterback after the victory would certainly confirm that notion.

“On Cam, I can’t give you an answer right now on his availability,” Utah’s head coach said after the game. “I’ve just been told that it’s not real serious. … I can’t tell you the exact description of what happened. He may be back this next week. We’ll see.”

In Rising’s absence, Utah’s humming offensive machine, which put up 17 points and logged 197 yards in the first half, screeched to a halt. For the second week in a row, true freshman quarterback Isaac Wilson took snaps in his place and struggled to find a rhythm.

The former four-star recruit finished the game 4-for-9 with 30 yards of passing. Some throws missed their target. Others floated out of bounds. Wilson was also sacked once in the pocket.

The Utes went scoreless in the second half and put up 94 yards of total offense with their backup under center.

Utah was also 2-for-7 on third downs after halftime.

“I’ve got to stay calm, cool and collected,” Wilson said. “I’ve got to trust in my teammates and the team is going to trust in me. Coach (Andy Ludwig) always says take care of the ball and great things will happen.”

When Rising emerged from the locker room in street clothes during the third quarter, he gave Wilson pointers here and there on the sideline. Composure, Wilson says, was the biggest issue.

“I came to that situation out of nowhere, but I’ve got to be ready,” Wilson said. “I’ve got to be there for my teammates especially. There’s a lot of plays I wish I could have had back.

“We’re going to evaluate that. I think I could’ve helped the defense, personally, by getting the ball moving just a little bit more.”

Despite Wilson’s struggles, Whittingham is not planning to make any changes to the quarterback rotation if Rising isn’t able to go next weekend against Utah State.

If that’s the case, however, there would have to be a decision on his backup. That means Sam Huard and Brandon Rose could battle for that spot this week in practice if Rising’s injury sidelines him for any amount of time.

“I’m thinking Isaac personally,” Whittingham said. “We’ll have to see who his backup will be. That will be a contested situation. But Isaac, yeah, he would be our guy if Cam can’t go, and I don’t see that changing.”

Micah Bernard steps up, as Jaylon Glover watches

Utah offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig wanted to establish a consistent rushing attack vs. the Bears.

Micah Bernard answered the bell.

He finished with 19 carries and a team-high 118 rushing yards on Saturday, the third 100-yard rushing game of his career. Bernard’s performance came in the absence of redshirt freshman running back Mike Mitchell, who left the game with an injury in the first half.

Mitchell finished the game with six carries and 20 yards before exiting the game.

“He’s got some real nagging things that have bugged him throughout fall camp,” Whittingham said of Mitchell. “He wasn’t able to practice real effectively until Wednesday or Thursday of this past week, but hopefully Mike is going to be in the room all season long, and he’s got to get these things healed up.”

Outside of Bernard, senior running back Charlie Vincent and sophomore running back Dijon Stanley combined for five carries and 27 rushing yards.

Junior running back Jaylon Glover did not make an appearance in the game.

“He just wasn’t in the plan for no specific reason other than we had those other guys penciled in for what we’re doing,” Whittingham said of Glover’s absence.

Utah’s defense clinches game

In Rising’s absence, Utah’s defense stepped up to the plate.

The Utes held Baylor’s offense to 115 passing yards and 108 rushing yards on Saturday. In the second half, when Utah’s offense went scoreless, the Bears went 4-for-9 on third down and quarterback Dequan Finn was sacked twice.

“The real key to the game and the reason we won the football game is our defense. Our defense played lights out,” Whittingham said.

Utah’s highlight play of the game came with 5:21 remaining in the second quarter. As the Bears attempted a field goal, senior defensive end Van Filinger batted the kick down before it landed in the outstretched hands of Tao Johnson.

The sophomore safety then sprinted 77 yards for a decisive touchdown. The field goal block and score was Utah’s first one since 1999, when former Ute and current BYU defensive coordinator Jay Hill did it against Wyoming.

“It happened so fast I can’t even really talk about it,” Johnson said. “I was debating on getting out of the way or catching and I was like, ‘Screw it. I’m about to catch it.’ So I caught it, and then I took off. It was just green grass from there.”

Next up the Utes will take on Utah State at 2:30 p.m. on Sept. 14 in Logan. If Rising is absent, Utah will need another performance from its defense like it had Saturday.

“The world can’t stop turning when Cam exits the game,” Whittingham said. “We have to be productive, which we were not productive after that.”