Grading No. 19 Utah's come-from-behind win over No. 20 USC


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SALT LAKE CITY — In dramatic fashion, the No. 19 Utah Utes came from behind to beat the No. 20 USC Trojans in a battle for a top spot in the Pac-12 South Division.

Led by a Travis Wilson drive down the field, Utah earned bowl eligibility for the first time in three seasons after a late-game touchdown pass to Kaelin Clay, giving the Utes a 24-21 lead and the eventual win.

The following is a grading of Utah’s performance in Saturday night’s win over the Trojans.

Offense: B- -----------

The offense has been a rough aspect of the game for some time for the Utes, except for the play of running back Devontae Booker. But, the offense was able to do just enough to get a win over the Trojans Saturday night.

Despite the criticism of Wilson this season, he manufactured an incredible late-game drive to give the Utes its first victory over the Trojans since joining the Pac-12. The final drive of the game wasn’t Wilson’s only success. He managed several decent drives and got the offense moving. He finished the game going 18-of-32 for 194 yards and one touchdown.

Devontae Booker, too, came up big for the Utes, recording 102 rushing yards on the night. His 24-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter also sparked some life in the offense that struggled to get it moving in the second half. Booker did have two big fumbles in the red zone, one of which was on the 1-yard line. Fortunately for Booker his fumble didn’t cost the Utes the game.

Tim Patrick, too, had a costly fumble on the 1-yard line, making it extremely difficult to gain some momentum in a game that appeared to be dominated by the Trojans.

We’ve yet to see a complete offensive performance from the Utes since beginning Pac-12 play. Saturday night’s performance was certainly an upgrade from weeks past, but there are still many flaws to the offense. But the offense keeps finding ways to win at the end. And it’s good to see Westlee Tonga getting some passes thrown his way.

Defense: A-

The Trojans have several talented athletes on their roster on the offensive side of the ball. As a result, it’s incredibly difficult to completely stop so many good players. But Utah’s defense did a good job of stopping the bleeding when it mattered most.

In a game-changing turnover, Jason Fanaika intercepted a tipped pass that set up Booker for a 24-yard rushing touchdown.

The defense struggled at first to contain the Trojans, who were a perfect 5-of-5 on third downs, but after some adjustments Utah was able to contain much of the offensive weapons USC hoped to utilize. Utah’s defense held the Trojans offense to 364 total yards and only 100 rushing yards, which is impressive given USC’s seven touchdown performance the week prior.

While there were certainly issues in the secondary, Utah’s defense continues to be a bright spot for the team. Wilson certainly gets credit for leading Utah down the field for a touchdown, but the defense made it possible.

Special Teams: B+

Kaelin Clay nearly had another punt return Saturday night, but had to settle for a nice 51-yard return. The Utes needed a big performance from Clay, who hasn’t seen many balls come his way since proving his escapability in previous games.

Utah didn’t have to rely too much on place kicker Andy Phillips to put points on the board, but when they did he was as efficient. Hackett, too, had a decent night punting the ball. On seven punts he averaged 46.4 yards, with his longest of the night a 66-yard punt.

The biggest drawback to special teams was allowing a 100-yard kickoff return by USC’s Adoree Jackson.

Overall Team: B+

It wasn’t always pretty to watch and there were definite struggles in all aspects of the game, but the Utes battled a very difficult opponent and found a way to get a win at the end. Turnovers were a major factor in the game, but fortunately for Utah they didn’t cost them the game.

While there were many things Utah wishes it could take back, a win is a win and the program is once again bowl eligible.

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Josh Furlong

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