Utah football: Utes not perfect, but good enough in win over USC


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SALT LAKE CITY — Saturday's home matchup with No. 20 USC was the biggest stage the No. 19 Utes have played on since a 2010 home date vs. TCU.

Cue the blackout, the national television audience and the down-to-the wire finish.

Only this time, unlike so many close Pac-12 Conference games in their first four years of membership that ended up going the other way, the Utes found a way to finish.

Utah quarterback Travis Wilson led the Utes on an 11-play, 73-yard drive capped with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Kaelin Clay with eight seconds remaining, giving the Utes a 24-21 victory over the Trojans.

The win improves Utah to 6-1, meaning that the Utes are bowl eligible for the first time since 2011.

Using the theme of the good, the bad and the ugly, here's a breakdown of the good, the OK (needs work) and the bad in the Utes' win over the Trojans:

The good --------

Westlee Tonga - Where, oh where has Westlee been? Utah's tight end had himself a breakout performance, hauling in a team-high six catches for 71 yards.

Devontae Booker - Booker had another great performance for the Utes, carrying the ball 26 times for 102 yards. It was his 24-yard touchdown scamper in the third quarter that sprung some life into Utah's offense. Booker has now rushed for over 100 yards in four straight games.

Utah's run defense - Utah's pass defense was below average, but its run defense was solid. Utah held USC to 100 yards rushing on the day, well below its season average of 189 yards per game. Jared Norris led the way with nine total tackles, while fellow linebacker Gionni Paul was a close second with eight.

Travis Wilson - For all the pressure that has been put on the quarterback position up on the hill, Wilson seemed to make the most of it. After two straight weeks of rotational quarterbacks and sharing time with Kendal Thompson, Wilson re-emerged as the clear-cut starter. His numbers aren't phenomenal, throwing 18-32 for 194 yards and a touchdown, but it was his leadership down the stretch that mattered most, scrambling for 18 yards down to the USC 1-yard line that set up the eventual 1-yard TD pass to Kaelin Clay for the go ahead score. Wilson is the only quarterback in the country who has yet to throw an interception (minimum 100 attempts). Also, Wilson became the 12th Ute to eclipse the 4,000 passing yard mark as a Ute.

Defensive adjustments - Is there a better defensive coordinator in the country at making adjustments than Utah's Kalani Sitake? After giving up 191 yards in the first quarter, Utah held USC to just 15 and 29 yards in the second and third quarters, respectively.

Tom Hackett - It is becoming a common theme, but Hackett's ability to flip field position is a huge benefit, especially for a team that is struggling on the offensive side of the ball. Hackett finished with seven punts on the day with a 46.4 average, with three downed inside the 20-yard line. He had one downed at the 8-yard line, his 13th punt inside the 10-yard line this season.

OK (needs work)

Defensive pass rush - For most of the game, USC was proving more worthy of the title of #SackLakeCity. Utah's pass rush was a half-second too late. Players got hits on USC QB Cody Kessler, but only after the football was released, usually for big gains. Utah adjusted later in the game, but USC was able to move the ball seemingly at will in the first and fourth quarters.

Special teams kickoff coverage - Utah kicker Andy Phillips has been really, really good all season at turning kickoffs into touchbacks. But when USC's Adoree Jackson took the ball out of the end zone, Utah's kickoff coverage was caught off guard, and Jackson made them pay. Jackson became the 3rd Trojan to score a kickoff return touchdown, giving USC a 14-10 lead when Utah had otherwise dominated the game up to that point.

The bad

Fumbles - There were lots of fumbles. Utah put the football on the turf four times, losing two of them. Both fumbles lost came inside the USC 1-yard line — prime opportunities for the Utes to have put up more points. Clean that up and the Utes aren't put in a situation to have to win the game late in the fourth quarter.

Robert Jackson is the cross platform sports and weather producer for ksl.com and KSL-TV. He has covered the Utes for KSL since 2008. You can catch him and co-host Brian Swinney Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7-9 p.m. on the Ute Sports Report 1320 KFAN.

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