While Utah has been the surprise of the season, it seems like they will have to beat USC to be taken seriously, especially since the second half of their schedule is far weaker than the first half.
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The sophomore had been nursing a leg injury that bothered him during practices. That unfortunate soul? Utah junior defensive back Dominique Hatfield, a Los Angeles native who had apparently been trash talking the entire game and paid dearly for it. The Trojans need a few options behind JuJu Smith Schuster, though he has 758 yards and leads the Pac-12.
USC went 88 yards for Davis’ touchdown run on its opening drive, but Utah answered with a 30-yard TD catch by Covey, the 5-8 freshman.
Cameron Smith returned the second of his three interceptions 54 yards for a touchdown, and Southern California knocked No. 3 Utah from the unbeaten ranks with a 42-24 victory Saturday night. Utah’s defense has given up 22.7 points per game with 371 yards per game. His 901 yards rank sixth and he is tied for 20th with 6.7 receptions per game. Led by senior defensive end Greg Townsend Jr., the Trojans clogged the running lanes and harassed quarterback Travis Wilson all game.
Utah still has a very clear path to the Pac-12 South title and is by no means out of the College Football Playoff race, but the Utes were exposed a bit on Saturday and will absolutely not survive down the stretch unless Wilson throws with more accuracy and takes care of the ball.
“I thought we played our most consistent game of the season”, Helton said. Cam Smith is so smart…. The Trojans erased that advantage thanks to Smith, the first USC player with three interceptions in a game since Jason Oliver in 1991 against Penn State.
“We didn’t really have all the pieces tucked in and into place”, Washington State coach Mike Leach said.
I know this smacks of “after the fact” but I was never sold on Utah. “But it was awesome”.
Weather: Sunny and warm in So Cal with kickoff temperatures expected in the low-eighties with little to no wind or precipitation expected in the Saturday night contest.
The Trojans were outstanding in their first appearance at the venerable arena since an embarrassing loss to Washington and the subsequent firing of coach Steve Sarkisian.
Now the momentum has shifted.
The Trojan defense, which came into the game 76th nationally in total defense, whipped the Utes up front, registering 5 sacks and limiting them to a season-low 98 yards rushing.
USC rebounded from a loss at Notre Dame to defeat Utah with what interim Coach Clay Helton described as the Trojans’ “most consistent” performance of the season.
Passing, Wilson had a solid game outside of his four (yes, you read it right, four) interceptions.
Helton acknowledged USC’s victory over Utah came at a critical time.
Goff completed 32 of 53 passes for 295 yards and three touchdowns in the Golden Bears’ 40-24 loss against UCLA.
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Goff’s favorite targets have been receivers Kenny Lawler, Stephen Anderson, Darius Powe and Bryce Treggs. Obviously, we’re disappointed with the loss on Saturday, but we think we’re in pretty good shape.
