Patrick caught it and kept in bounds. They only lost two out of ten conference games played. USC ended up putting up 466 yards on Utah’s offense, which is nearly unheard of, with 213 on the ground and 253 through the air.
Advertisement
But unlike past year, the Utes are balanced offensively, as evidenced by rushing for over 201 yards against San Jose State with the three-headed attack of Zack Moss, Armand Shyne and Troy McCormick. Both times, the Utes’ offensive line gave a big enough push to create wide running lanes for the two backs. 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. What plays changed the game? Idaho and Rutgers probably wouldn’t be bowl eligible if you combined their 2016 win totals and Portland State is an FCS team. Troy Williams is completing 62.8 percent of his passes for 723 yards, four touchdowns and four interceptions. Incredible defense, solid special teams, shaky offense, inconsistent quarterback play, and more strong running backs than you can shake a stick at.
USC quarterback Max Browne is still learning to handle the pressure of starting for a storied program.
With that in mind, we thought it would be a good time to make a few predictions in the two Pac-12 divisions, based upon what the teams have done through the season’s first three weeks.
The two teams met previous year with the Utes also coming in undefeated before leaving with a 42-24 loss on the road.
Today’s USC Trojans vs Utah Utes college football game has a start time schedule of 9:00pm EST time and will air on TV channel FS1, Fox Sports 1. Southern Utah was the first victim by a 24 – 0 score, and BYU became the second, as the Utes escaped the Cougars by a narrow 20 – 19 finish. Up 14 in the third quarter, USC’s Rasheem Green popped the ball loose on the goal line.
When the Trojans upset Utah in the Coliseum last October, Cameron Smith played a big role.
The Trojans are 1-2 and now they face No. 24 Utah on the road Friday. The final drive of the game, which went for 93 yards on 15 plays, was a strong indicator of Utah’s poise and ability to compete in the Pac-12 this season. They were getting push on the first level, and creating some holes in the run game.
QUOTABLE: “No team respects our passing game”, Patrick said.
Be proactive – Use the “Flag as Inappropriate” link at the upper right corner of each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Armand Shyne fumbled at the goal line and offensive lineman Isaac Asiata got the ball in the midst of a pile in the end zone to preserve a Utes touchdown. Utah ran 12 straight plays on the drive, culminating in Williams’ keeper on a read-option play. It got better as the game progressed, but USC was close to taking it back several times. Smith returned one interception 54 yards for a score and almost returned another, instead setting the Trojans up deep in the red zone for another touchdown. The Utah Utes ground game is averaging 169.3 yards per contest, and Troy McCormick leads the way with 178 yards and two touchdowns. That ended with the Williams-to-Patrick kill shot, which has USC at 1-3 and looking like a disaster.
USC’s defense forced a quick Utah three-and-out and managed to tack on another three points with 37 seconds left to take a 17-10 lead heading into halftime.
UCLA has to hope they cover Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey better than the Trojans did.
Utah was only able to get three points out of the two fumbles when Andy Phillips hit a 36-yard field goal with 6:39 left to play in the half. Not only did Utah lose its star defensive tackle Lowell Lotulelei to an injury, but the defense gave USC easy, wide-open looks.
Advertisement
“I know everybody looks at one position and likes to blame it on one person, but there are so many different things that go into it”, Sitake said.
