Utah's Rising leaves Rose Bowl with leg injury

Utah quarterback Cam Rising exited early from Monday's 35-21 loss in the Rose Bowl to Penn State with a leg injury.

Rising appeared to suffer the injury after scrambling for a 10-yard gain in the third quarter. The junior passer needed help walking to Utah's medical tent before heading to the locker room unassisted. He didn't return to the game.

"It doesn't look good, I can tell you that," Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said of Rising's injury, according to Jeff Call of the Deseret News.

Bryson Barnes replaced Rising following the injury. The sophomore signal-caller finished the game with 112 passing yards, one touchdown, and an interception in relief.

Rising completed 8 of 21 passes for 95 yards, one touchdown, and an interception before leaving the game. He also added 56 rushing yards.

It's unclear if Rising re-aggravated a nagging knee ailment that's required him to play with two knee braces this season. An injury also forced Rising to exit last year's Rose Bowl in the fourth quarter against Ohio State after being sacked.

The California native led the Utes to back-to-back Pac-12 titles. Rising entered Monday having passed for 2,939 yards, 25 touchdowns, and seven interceptions this campaign.