Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
It had been 95 years since the Trojans of sunny Southern California visited the brisk air of Salt Lake City to face the Utes. Last time they were in Salt Lake City, USC defeated the Utes 51-0. The Trojans didn't get much of a warm welcome from the Utes' defense early in the game as they gave up two turnovers and two touchdowns. But once USC quarterback Matt Barkley settled down in and out of the pocket, it was a different (and entertaining) story the rest of the way. USC defeated Utah 38-28 after being down 14-0.
Although Utah lost this Pac-12 match-up, one cannot deny the effort it put into this game. Coming off strong against such a formidable team as USC is commendable. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to turn the Utes' season around as they fell to a 2-3 record.
Utah played very well coming off of a bye week considering it was going up against No. 13 USC. How well? Here are the Utes' game day grades:
Quarterback: B-
Jon Hays' first half was very impressive. He threw for more than 130 yards and two touchdowns with no picks. But the second half was a much different ballgame for the senior quarterback. He ended up throwing a pick-six to put the nail in the coffin on Utah. He ended the game with 160 passing yards, two touchdowns and the biggest, as well as only, interception of the game.
Running Backs: C+
The Wolfman didn't exactly have an incredible game, but he had a better game than his 18-yard performance at Arizona State. He ran for 68 yards but no touchdowns. The Utes are now 0-8 when John White rushes for less than 100 yards.
Receivers: B+
The entire night, the offensive coordinator believed that the Utes had the upper hand when it came to the outside corners. Wide receivers DeVonte Christopher, Dres Anderson and Jake Murphy would agree as they caught for 150 yards but just one touchdown. Unfortunately, some plays were called back due to the Utes shooting themselves in the foot with penalties.
Offensive line: C+
The offense didn't allow a sack in the first half of the game and it allowed the rushing game to get 95 yards, opening up gaps for the running backs. In the long run though, Hays was pressured a lot of the time in the pocket, therefore making poor decisions when passing the ball. These poor choices led to an interception that sealed the game for USC.
Offense: D+
The offense Thursday night was once again nonexistent. It started a lot of drives but was not able to end them in the end zone. Offensively, Utah only had one touchdown and 15 first downs compared to USC's 22. The Utes were still able to put up 304 offensive yards but not enough offensive touchdowns.
Defensive line: C
The defense was pressuring Barkley the first half of the game. Unfortunately for the Utes, it was Barkley. USC's offensive line made it easy for Barkley to get his composure and be able to pass for three touchdowns. USC's offense was definitely on Thursday night, attacking from all corners of the field. USC's offense was too much, even for Utah's defense.
Linebackers/Secondary: C-
Although they started on a great note, the linebackers didn't have much success the rest of the night. A missed interception in the end zone was the highlight (or lowlight) for the Utes as USC quarterback Barkley was not missing the rest of the night. Barkley ended the night with 303 passing yards and three touchdowns.
Defense: C-
It seemed like early on in the game, the defense was there to play. Star Lotulelei came out of the gate strong but was pretty much ineffective the rest of the game as USC adjusted to defend against him. The defense must've had the wind knocked out of it when Barkley and company motored the ball the other way and scored a touchdown quickly after Utah scored two. After that touchdown, the passing game and running game for USC was all over the place in a good way. It had 433 yards of total offense in the game and ended with 38 points on the scoreboard.
Special teams: B-
This seemed to be the only thing the Utes did right on Thursday night. And they didn't even do it right. Although their kickoffs were mostly touchbacks, their one attempt at a field goal was blocked. They couldn't get a hand on USC's field goal attempts (lucky for them, they only went 1-3 on field goal attempts) and they couldn't get much on punt and kickoff returns.
Alex Rivera is the assistant sports editor of the UVU Review. You can contact him at arivera.2011@hotmail.com or through his Twitter account @A_River_Uh.
