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Ann Arbor, Mich. • It took only an instant. It haunted Utah fans for an hour.
Just how badly hurt was Travis Wilson?
The way his face took the impact into the ground, the way his back and legs bent behind him unnaturally, then lashing back down to the turf. He took a minute to get up on his hands and knees, leaving Utah fans sitting on needles and feeling their stomachs clench involuntarily.
Count coach Kyle Whittingham among that number.
"It was a pretty nasty spill he took," Whittingham said. "He was completely inverted and landed on his face. It was a pretty scary deal."
The impact certainly hurt Wilson more than it hurt those watching, but it's a soft, vulnerable spot for anyone who worried that the junior's career was over last fall. Even though he was walking upright to the locker room, seeing him leave the sideline was a painful sight.
Apparently Wilson can just bear pain better than others.
Wilson addressed the media after the game, bloody stains running across his face but clear-headed. He joked about the play, quipping that it's difficult to jump over 6-foot-3 defenders.
He's learned his lesson, he said: Don't leap recklessly into danger.
"I definitely need to be smarter about that situation next time," he said, "and I definitely paid the price for it."
That price: Stitches in his nose, and roughly 11 minutes out of the game. He said he didn't know how many stitches, and he didn't know if he would need further medical care when he returns to Salt Lake.
But Wilson gave more than just his word that he was healthy: He showed it on the field.
He came back to start the second half — a decision Whittingham said was never in doubt once his nose was stitched up — and led Utah's most impressive drive for the game's only offensive touchdown. His 67-yard campaign, taking up only one minute and 27 seconds with five snaps, was a tone-setting performance for the rest of the day. He threw for 172 yards and a 70 percent completion rate.
Whittingham seemed in awe of Wilson afterward, getting a faraway look as he reflected on how Wilson picked himself up and somehow, despite that initial frightening moment, finish the game.
"That guy is a warrior in every sense of the word," he said. "It's great to see him lead our football team by example, and by what he says and making everyone around him better."
Twitter: @kylegoon —
Wilson's adventure
• Wilson exits the game, gets stitches in his nose.
• Junior returns at halftime and leads only offensive touchdown drive.
• Finishes 14-for-20 with one touchdown pass and no turnovers.