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SALT LAKE CITY — The USC Trojans have been a thorn in Utah’s side since joining the Pac-12. But on Saturday, Utah got its revenge in a 41-28 win in a bigtime South Division matchup.
Utah played with composure and confidence en route to erasing a 14-0 early deficit to score 34 unanswered points and the eventual blowout victory. And even though Utah claimed a 13-point win, the Utes manhandled the Trojans for most of the game in a balanced attack.
The following are three takeaways from the key win for the Utes.
Hello defense: We’re not worthy
Utah entered Saturday’s matchup ranked in the top 10 nationally in several areas of the defense, including a No. 2 ranking in rush defense. But with the Trojans, it was an all-out assault against a traditionally dominant USC offense.
The Utes held the Trojans to 99 total yards of offense in the first half, and allowed the Los Angeles school only 106 more yards in the second half. In total, the Trojans had little room for success on a night when they went 3-of-14 on third downs. Until the fourth quarter, the Trojans hadn’t converted on a single third down all game.
Utah’s defensive line stopped the run and dialed up pressure on freshman quarterback JT Daniels as the linebackers and secondary played fantastic zone coverage for much of the night. Head coach Kyle Whittingham called the stellar defensive performance “suffocating.”
Even when the Trojans managed to get into the red zone, Utah stood tall and withstood the Trojans’ attack. Jaylon Johnson, again, claimed a goal-line interception as the defense found another way to get a stop. Linebacker Chase Hansen led the team in tackles with 11, and added a much-needed interception early in the game to give Utah some momentum.
This Utah defense is special and will continue to be a force to be reckoned with all season.
Tyler Huntley continues to excel
The junior quarterback has seemingly laughed off the early-season hate, and has put together an impressive three-week run for the offense as the Utes have scored more than 40 points in three-consecutive weeks.
Huntley started the game with a fumble that led to a USC scoop-and-score touchdown by former Bingham High School defensive tackle Jay Tufele, and five of his first 10 passes were incomplete. But that’s where it stopped as Huntley masterfully put on a show en route to a 341-yard, four-touchdown performance on 22-of-29 passing. His 75.9 percent passing percentage and 220.2 quarterback rating, though, don’t tell the whole story.
The Florida native brushed off USC defenders, played confidently and picked apart a defense that desperately wished they had linebackers Cameron Smith and Porter Gustin in the game, and not on the sidelines due to injury. Huntley threw four passing touchdowns against Weber State in week one, but his four against a tough USC defense shows a quarterback that has what it takes to lift Utah to a South Division title.
Additionally, he’s spread the passing around to several receivers — nine receivers were targeted Saturday — and is not just fixated on routes to Britain Covey. Moreover, he’s found a nice balance of short passes, while mixing it up with deep passes to receivers in stride, including a 27-yard touchdown pass to Solomon Enis for the freshman’s first score of his career.
It’s a facet of the game that has been traditionally perfect for much of Whittingham’s tenure. Mistakes just don’t happen all that much on special teams for the Utes. But Saturday, Utah found itself with a muffed punt by Covey that was recovered by USC deep in Utah territory, and a blocked punt that was also recovered deep in Utah territory.
Fortunately for Utah, the mistakes didn’t ultimately matter for Saturday's game. But for a team that prides itself on executing in all facets of the game, especially one managed by the head coach, each mistake was an unacceptable “gaffe,” as Whittingham said after the game. Normally this wouldn’t be a concern, but Utah had some early struggles on special teams to start the season, so let's hope this has reared its head for the final time as Utah looks to put a stamp on the South race.
You can be sure Whittingham will focus on correcting the errors, including decisions to bring down punts on the run by Covey, but until they get fixed, special teams are an area of concern for the Utes. It’s not something to lose sleep over, but something to watch as the remainder of the season plays out.
