It's been an odd season so far for Utah football. While they have raced out to a 6-1 start to the campaign, highlighted by a wild 34-32 victory over USC on Saturday night, they have been patiently awaiting the return of star quarterback Cam Rising. However, after their takedown of the Trojans, head coach Kyle Whittingham dropped a surprising update on Rising.

Rising has been recovering from surgery on his knee after he suffered a torn meniscus, MPFL, MCL, and ACL in last year's Rose Bowl, and given the severity of the injury, it's taken Rising longer to get up to speed than expected. Ultimately, Whittingham revealed that Rising is going to be shut down for the rest of the season, throwing the talented quarterback's football future up in the air.

“Following a dramatic 36-34 victory over USC on Saturday night, Utah coach Kyle Whittingham announced that starting quarterback Cam Rising, who has not played all season, will be shut down for the rest of the year. Rising, who has led Utah to back-to-back Pac-12 titles, injured his knee during last year's Rose Bowl and had to undergo surgery to repair what the senior quarterback later referred to as a torn meniscus, MPFL and MCL along with a torn ACL.” – Paolo Uggetti, ESPN

What's next for Cam Rising and Utah football?

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Rising led the Utes to Pac-12 titles in two straight seasons before suffering his gruesome injury last year, and it's clear that he's an extremely talented quarterback when he's healthy and on the field. The problem is that Rising is missing a whole season of action here, and if he decides he's going to return for another collegiate season, he will be 25 years old, which already puts him a step behind other NFL hopefuls.

With Rising out for the rest of the season, Bryson Barnes and Nate Johnson will handle the quarterback duties, with Barnes leading Utah to their big win over USC. Rising's future is certainly a big question that the Utes will have to address in the future, but for now, they are going to work on continuing to find a way to win football games without their star quarterback.