The Trojans are coming off of a strong victory against Washington State, as they defeated the Cougars by a score of 30-14. While the offense appeared a little inconsistent at times, the defense is what carried the day for USC. They held Washington State to just 316 total yards of offense and shut out the Cougars in the second half. There were a lot of takeaways for USC from this game as they feel like a team that still has a lot to prove on both sides of the ball. Their next opponent, the Utes, will perhaps be their toughest test of the season, as it will be a lopsided matchup for USC in Utah.
Trojans in Rice-Eccles
Since Utah joined the Pac-12 in 2011, USC is just 2-3 when in Salt Lake City. One of those wins coming in 2020 in an empty stadium. Rice-Eccles Stadium has become one of the toughest places for road teams to walk away from a win from. If you don’t count the USC win during the 2020 covid year, the Utes have won 21 consecutive games at home. The Trojans have proven that they can win in a tough environment this season when they went on the road to Corvallis and beat Oregon State. However, the Beavers are not at the same level that the Utes are at. USC head coach Lincoln Riley has plenty of experience in hostile environments coming from Oklahoma, as do most of his players that came from the transfer portal. Whether or not the Trojans will be able to execute on both sides of the ball for 60 minutes will be their biggest challenge.
The Lopsided Matchup For USC
Looking at this matchup on paper, just about everything indicates that the Trojans should have a rough go of it in Utah. USC’s offense will have to find a way to put up points and manage the Utah crowd, which is a given on the road. What stands out the most in this matchup, however, is Utah’s average time of possession so far this season. They are currently 17th in the country in average time of possession with 33 minutes per game. On top of that, Utah is a team that has an aggressive rushing game, averaging over 39 rushing attempts through the first 6 games. Put that together with USC’s defense giving up over 4 yards per rush attempt, the Utes will expect to run all over the Trojans. Despite USC leading the nation in turnover margin at +14, they have not been a team that has proven to be able to stop the run consistently. They are a team that has benefited from putting pressure on the quarterback and capitalizing on quarterbacks mistakes. Unless USC can make some serious adjustments in its run defense, Utah will have a field day at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
As far as the offense is concerned, they probably picked the best week to have down performance. Every coach knows that it’s is far better to have things to work on coming off of a win than it is a loss. Although it was by no means a bad game, quarterback Caleb Williams is coming off of a bit of a down performance . Completing just 51% of his passes, Williams knows he can still elevate his game. When asked about his play through the first six games he replied, “I’ve played alright, I feel like I can play a lot better. I don’t feel like I’ve unlocked everything I can do.” Lincoln Riley echoed his thoughts saying, “He’s done a lot of good things. I I think he can play more consistent.” Riley emphasized the point that Williams has now essentially reached the point of a full year of experience dating back to his time at Oklahoma last year. With how limited USC’s scoring opportunities may be, Riley and Williams know that they will have to capitalize when they have the ball and play a clean offensive game.
Go Be Great
As it has been for much of the season, the balance of the game will largely fall on the shoulders of the Trojan defense. Both teams will know what each other will want to do, which means it is going to come down to execution. The Utes are a very well coached team, which is something that USC has not been able to say in years past. Lincoln Riley has this Trojans team believing and will very much be a confident bunch going into Salt Lake City on Saturday. They have already won games in multiple ways, which is what separates the good teams from the great teams. USC will be underdogs for the first time this season, as Utah is favored by 3.5 at home. If the Trojans want to prove that they are indeed a great team, they are going to have to find a way to come out of Salt Lake City with a win whatever way they can.
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