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SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Utes travel to Los Angeles to take on divisional rival USC. Both teams have a 4-3 record and desperately need a win to improve on the season.
Utah is hoping to bounce back from their disappointing loss to Arizona last week. Here are five keys for each team to come away with the all important W:
Looking at the games the Utes have lost, they haven't played an entire game. They took the first quarter off against Oregon State, second quarter off against UCLA, and almost the whole first half against Arizona. The crazy thing is the Utes were in each of those games.
Utah has shown that they're more successful when playing aggressively with their defense, dialing up blitzes, and bringing pressure on the quarterback. USC quarterback Cody Kessler isn't going to run a ton, meaning Utah doesn't have to worry about the quarterback beating them with his legs.
No long kick or punt returns can be allowed, giving an inconsistent USC offense a short field. Andy Phillips must be on point and rebound after last week. Utah will need every point they get, even if they only come three at a time.
Travis Wilson needs to understand that, sometimes, it's okay to take a loss of yardage. Throwing it out of bounds is ideal, but taking a sack and being able to punt it away is better than the lost field position from an interception, and the momentum it gives USC.
Utah wins when they lead at the half. They lose when they don't. It's pretty simple.
