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SALT LAKE CITY — Coming off Utah's blowout loss to Arizona State, few expected the Utes to compete with No. 13 ranked USC. And while the Utes made it an exciting game in the first half, it was all Trojans in the second half, completely dominating the game with a 38-28 victory.
Impression 1:
While the refs could have let the two teams play a little more physical, penalties killed the Utes, especially in key moments of the game. Several first downs were called back because of Utah penalties. However, the most egregious penalty came late in the second quarter when Utah was penalized for an ineligible player downfield after an amazing double reverse touchdown pass, which would have given the Utes a lead heading into halftime.
Penalties have been an issue all season, negating several offensive plays and hurting drives. It's hard to put points on the board when the offense hurts themselves with penalties. In the first half alone, Utah had eight penalties for 82 yards.
Impression 2:
Utah could not afford to get into a shootout with a more talented USC team. And while the Utes took an early 14-point lead in the first quarter, the Trojans offense was just too much for the Utes. The Trojans offense is stacked with talent, starting with senior quarterback Matt Barkley, who went 23-of-30 for 303 yards and three touchdowns. Moving on down the line, USC has Robert Woods, Silas Redd and Marqise Lee, who will all likely be top picks in the NFL.
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Impression 3:
Utah's defense was much better than their performance against Arizona State, especially in the first half of play. However, in the second half, the defense looked tired, was pushed around and couldn't tackle. While some of the problems were missed assignments, the defense was forced to play a lot of time, wearing them down physically.
Utah's offense needed to get things moving to help the defense get a breather. Yes, the offense was moving the ball in the first half, but it was inexistent in the second half.
Impression 4:
While the offense struggled in the second half, the play calling was creative and equally distributed between the run and passing game. While there is still much to improve upon, offensive coordinator Brian Johnson appears to be making progress. Johnson was not content with just handing the ball off to John White IV or making short passes. Johnson made adjustments by keeping Jon Hays in the shotgun formation, which gave him more time to make plays. Additionally, there was a variety of plays that helped Utah move the chains in the first half. Unfortunately for Utah, their best play was negated by a penalty.
Impression 5:
Utah has talent and has the ability to play up for games. However, there are still adjustments that need to be made before Utah can consistently compete in the Pac-12. It's unreasonable to expect the Utes to come into a difficult conference and dominate the same way it did in the Mountain West Conference. It will take time for Utah to get the recruits and the talent that is closer to the talent of USC. Give the Utes credit for staying with the game and not calling it quits.
