Did fans and the media factor into their decision to go w/ Cam?

[Holladay Ute]

I admit this sounds stupid. I listened to Whittingham and Bernard after the game though. And their comments made me wonder if all the criticism and frustration from fans and media influenced their decision to play Cam and stick w/ Cam in the 2nd half.

Whittingham basically said the only reason they let Cam play the 2nd half was b/c “Cam told us he really wanted to play”. Bernard said something to the effect of, “Cam wanted to show everybody that he really wanted to play even though he was injured.”

So Whittingham’s secrecy about injuries results in everybody unfairly criticizing Cam. Fans understandably get upset about how all the injuries have been communicated. And then Whitt allows our criticism to influence his decision-making. This has been so poorly managed, I am in shock. Whitt is a great coach, but he has committed a serious crime.

[AlohaUte]

I think it probably did, which surprises me.

[Tony (admin)]

Not only that, but it’s a risk to Cam’s physical health in the future long after football is over.

[Charlie Foxtrot]

All I can say is sometimes as a head coach you need to do what is best for the team. After Cam got rolled up and couldn’t plant his right foot to throw, that combined with the issue with his throwing hand and two first half interceptions should have made the choice to pull him and easy one.

I don’t question Cams toughness or his willingness to put it all out there, but when you can’t be effective then it’s the coaching staff’s job to make the call that is right for the rest of the team. It was clear to anyone watching that game that Cam’s right leg was hurt pretty badly. Critical fans including myself would have totally understood pulling him for Wilson. Even if we lost with Wilson running the second half I certainly wouldn’t have blamed coaching for making that decision.

[2008 National Champ]

I think the whole fanbase would have celebrated the decision, if made, to pull Rising after the 2nd drive when it was obvious that he was not capable of performing at the level required. The best interests of the team and the player were no longer served by leaving him out there. And quite frankly, the O Line deserves one hell of an atta-boy (boys?) for keeping him as clean as they did.

ASU knew that if Bernard wasn’t in the game, it wouldn’t be a run play. And they really didn’t need to rush with anything more than 4 because Rising could not avoid a rush, hurt them with his legs or deliver the ball with any accuracy.

Whatever Wilson did in the game would have been viewed correctly for once, that he is an 18 year old who is being forced into a position that he isn’t ready for, instead of comparing him to a healthy Rising from multiple years ago. I’m not mad that Utah lost a game tonight. I’m mad that it did not have to happen the way it did.

[Jim Vanderhoof]

100% true Charlie. When I saw him get bent backwards I thought for sure he was out. The problem the injury now he is immobile and can’t throw both. At least without the leg injury he could run for first downs or get out of trouble.

I’m a huge fan of Cam and was surprised to see him struggle to throw. I can see now why he hasn’t played. Add a leg injury. I wouldn’t hesitate to put Wilson in. Wilson at that point gave them a much better chance to win.

[HATUman]

So this is our leader of leaders? The guy who will go down with the ship without trying to plug the holes first? How f$&@ing selfish. Yeah, I want to play too, but I’m 41 and understand that I don’t give the team the best chance of winning. A leader of leaders understands his limitations and does what’s best for the team, not self gratification.

[2008 National Champ]

to be fair, you could have probably thrown the ball better than Rising did tonight. I’m pretty sure I could have and the last time I played QB was when I kept clanging the ball off the back of my linemen’s helmets in 7th grade.

[Holladay Ute]

I think it’s fair to say he thought he gave the team the best chance to win. That’s what competitors think about themselves. And given the criticism that’s been directed his way, I can see how he’d have extra motivation to stay on the field. I don’t fault him for wanting to play. The coaches needed to make the right decision for the team and take him out. It’s on them, not him.

[Holladay Ute]

This is the kind of thing that causes you to lose the locker room and fan support. It goes w/out saying how poorly they’ve communicated the injury situations w/ Cam. But to do what they did tonight sends a horrible message to Isaac Wilson, the rest of the team, all our fans, and even Cam Rising. Cam was playing w/ half an arm and half a leg! Unbelievable.

[The Miami Ute]

Man, if this is true Whitt has lost his marbles. Since when does a player decide whether he plays or not? The product, no matter how valiant the effort, was totally unsatisfactory.

[Jim Vanderhoof]

What player wouldn’t want to play? Especially Cam since he has been criticized already for not playing hurt. It’s on the coaches to decide. It was a no brainer to me after watching him struggle to pass and then lose his mobility. Whitt should take some heat.

[RoboUte]

Something people need to appreciate as well. The players are not immune to these frustrations.

This is a nightmare scenario that was entirely avoidable. In fact, it practically had to jumped in front of. When the confidence in leadership erodes it really isn’t recovering most likely…

[2008 National Champ]

Not to mention that there are close to 130 distinct personalities in that locker room that all believe they are the best option for the team. When one player is given all the accolades and makes the most money.,, that is only sustainable when he’s winning games. Once that facade is proven false you get 10, 15, 20 different cliques who all believe that they should be answer.

Just to throw a couple of names out there, unless they have injuries that I don’t know about why would Landon King or Munir McLain want to have anything to do with this team going forward? You have the very real possibility of not only losing the present of Utah Football but the future as well based on how things have been handled.

[The Miami Ute]

Human psychology is an interesting thing. When the highest-paid player on the team and the “face of the franchise” is a guy whose best days are behind him, you’re going to have problems. The fact is that money, as we all know, plays a huge role in this equation. Rising hasn’t done anything for years. To a young, financially insecure adult, like most of Utah’s players are, there’s a huge disconnect in seeing Cam making more money than the rest of the team combined and not being able to deliver the goods on the field. There’s also the fact that Cam, by virtue of being on the team, makes it so that the NIL parcel isn’t able to be reallocated to more worthy players. It is a tough nut to crack…

[quagmire]

I put zero blame on cam. He heard the rumblings, he heard the “scam risings”. He laid it all on the line tonight. However, whit should’ve pulled him at half time. Everyone could see that he was cooked.

[Roy Rangum]

This doesn’t sound stupid at all. I had the exact same thought.

[Utecity]

So Cam is the coach now? You play him because “he really wants to play” despite the fact that he got injured AGAIN and looked worse than Bryson Barnes did at any point all last year?

Part of me wonders if Isaac Wilson is actually injured and they didn’t announce it, that’s the only explanation for letting such a putrid performance go on last like it did last night.

[2008 National Champ]

The score dictated leaving Rising in since it was never more than a TD difference. Whitt can always fall back on that logic. At the same time, look at the MLB playoffs. Aces get pulled in one run games because every game is must win. But for some reason, football coaches are married to the idea that the QB is off limits unless it’s a blowout either way.

[EagleMountainUte]

Wanting and being capable to
Play are different things. Well paid coaches need to make those tough decisions. There is no way of knowing if Wilson, Rose or Huard would have done better.

Gundy dumped his QB against Utah. Second guy sucked and then he put his guy back in who made it a game.

Rising is at a point though where mental toughness can’t overcome the physical limitations.

[Rick Walker]

It kinda reminds me of the 2022 CCG where Caleb Williams was clearly hurt and Riley left him on the field. By the end of that game it was clear that was a poor decision just like leaving Cam in for this one.

[RUUTES]

Based on Whitt’s comments after the game about Cam I’m of the sad belief that Whitt decided showing his personal loyalty to Cam was the most important aspect of the decision. I’m all for loyalty but not if that kills your QB. I think we’ve seen that before. This is my guy so I will ride him till he dies has resulted in a lot of injuries.

I’ll never understand why we didn’t at least sit Rising for a couple series to assess his injury while Wilson filled in from the bench just to give us a bit of time to review Cam’s situation. Instead it looked like it wasn’t even questioned despite him throwing ball after ball into the dirt. The fans saw it, the commentators saw it…and clearly ASU saw it.

Guess it is what it is. But I don’t like seeing players left out on the field to gut it out when we haven’t really determined if its hurt vs injured.

[SteelUte]

My heart breaks for Cam- I don’t question his heart or his desire. I feel bad that I joked about him cashing checks etc. It felt like he still couldn’t palm the ball. He was tossing the ball not throwing it even before the knee/ ankle.

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