They landed critical blows on a pair of fourth-down conversions to keep the drive alive.
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Offensively, USC football is averaging 203.3 yards in passing and 119.7 yards in rushing, and 20.3 points per game.
“We know things aren’t going the way we want them to and there’s adversity”, Jackson said. “That’s the bottom line”.
Troy Williams threw for 270 yards and two touchdowns – including an 18-yard toss to Tim Patrick with 16 seconds left – to rally 24th-ranked Utah to a 31-27 victory over USC on Friday night. Patrick made the biggest play with his go-ahead touchdown catch as he fell backward into the end zone.
Williams led an 11-play, 75-yard drive that was capped off with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Raelon Singleton. USC is coming in with a 1-2 mark, looking abysmal against Alabama and Stanford, albeit both are top 10 sides. Max Browne started the year’s first three games for the Trojans and wasn’t horrid but also wasn’t particularly efficient, throwing for 158 yards per game and two total touchdowns and interceptions. Zack Moss converted the second one with a 5-yard run to the 18 with 45 seconds left.
The performance at San Jose State last week brought back memories of Utah’s “Sack Lake City” defense from a couple of years ago.
“Troy had a heck of a game”, senior lineman Isaac Asiata said. “Those are the wins you dream about as a kid”.
They gave up 6.5 yards per attempt on 33 carries while giving up 126 yards and a touchdown to Justin Davis on just 10 carries.
The Trojans had their first Pac-12 win of the season pried from their hands and are 1-3 for the first time since 2001.
Williams threw incomplete passes on their first two plays of the drive.
Series history: USC leads the all-time series 10-4, including a 42-24 victory past year.
When Sam Darnold met with coach Clay Helton late last Sunday, he learned surprising news.
As Darnold charged forward, he leaped in the air to cross the goal line. The win would help calm everyone down and hopefully set the tone for the remainder of the season and be especially important in the Pac-12 South standings. USC football, trying to turn around a 1-2 start to the season, . USC tacked on another field goal to give the Trojans a 17-10 lead at half time.
“We were able to run it down their throat effectively the whole game and punch the ball in at the end”, Williams said. Another offensive key is the offensive line cutting down on its penalties. The Huskies have been blowing out everybody and expect that to continue in Tucson, though the Wildcats will be pesky for the first half. The Trojans coughed up fumbles on each of their first three offensive possessions – each time after advancing into Utah territory. Utah ran 12 straight plays on the drive, culminating in Williams’ keeper on a read-option play.
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The biggest mistake is failing to converge on USC’s Adoree Jackson in the first quarter, allowing him to go for a 100-yard kickoff return touchdown. USC athletic director Lynn Swann didn’t hire him and now former Trojan stars like wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson and running back LenDale White are losing their minds over the state of their alma mater’s football program. A short while later, Utah faced another 4th-and-1, this time in field goal range. In order to have success in the league, let alone against Stanford, the Trojans are going to need greater discipline and situational awareness.
