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PROVO — Riding high on an emotional double-overtime victory over Tennessee, BYU’s focus during its run of four straight Power Five opponents to open the 2019 season turns to a much more familiar — and hearty — foe Saturday when No. 24 Southern California comes to Utah.
The Trojans (2-0) have returned to their post as media darlings of the Pac-12, thanks to a pair of wins with two separate quarterbacks and last week’s 45-20 rout of then-No. 20 Stanford that propelled USC into the AP Top 25.
There’s certainly "overlook" potential from both sides, after a pair of emotional victories last week. Both teams also have strong opponents in a week, with BYU hosting No. 21 Washington and USC playing host to No. 11 Utah.
“I know we have two P-5 games coming up at home,” BYU offensive lineman Brady Christensen said. “We just have to play loose, have fun and protect LaVell’s house. It’s our house, too; that’s what his wife said. We’ve got to go in and protect it.”
Here’s a look at the cardinal-and-gold Trojans before Saturday’s mid-day kickoff at LaVell Edwards Stadium (1:30 p.m. MDT, ABC).
New QB, who dis?
The Trojans are riding in with confidence after true freshman quarterback Kedon Slovis’ historic debut against the Cardinal. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound freshman from Scottsdale, Arizona, set freshman passing records with an 82.9% completion rate, 377 yards and three touchdowns in the Trojans' win. Clay Helton has reinvigorated a once-struggling USC offense with a bold addition in new offensive coordinator Graham Harrell and his Air Raid offense. Slovis has a trio of highly productive weapons in wide receivers Michael Pittman Jr., Tyler Vaughn and Amon-Ra St. Brown, as well as two tailbacks who can carry the load on the ground in Vavae Malepeai and Stephen Carr.
But it all starts with the quarterback, especially in an offense run by Harrell, who played quarterback at Texas Tech for Mike Leach and also worked with Dana Holgorsen at Oklahoma State. The Trojans are averaging 38 points in their first two games of the season while masking a defense that allows just 21.5 points per game.
“He’s an impressive kid, with good composure,” BYU coach Kalani Sitake said of Slovis. “I think he’s poised and made some really tough throws — and was really effective, obviously. He has some really good weapons around him. But I thought he showed some really good poise and ability in the pocket.”
It’s similar to the offensive set that Harrell brought from his time at North Texas when he made UNT head coach Seth Littrell — another Air Raid disciple — a household name in college football.
But Slovis’ sparkling debut goes back to the week before in practice, and Harrell hopes to have the same week leading up to the road trip to BYU.
“The reason that we played as well as we did at times was because we practiced and prepared the right way. You can’t get complacent. You can’t let that end,” Harrell told reporters in Los Angeles. “You’ve got to hit every game because you had a great week of preparation. That’s got to be the same this week as every week.”
The Trojans’ offense is a dramatic change for the Cougar defense, who faced two run-heavy offenses in back-to-back weeks in then-No. 15 Utah and Tennessee. But BYU can draw on several moments from those two games in preparing for USC, too, according to defensive coordinator Ilaisa Tuiaki.
“I thought it was exactly how we needed to win,” he said in describing the Tennessee game. “We needed the defense to hold on and to battle until the end. It was huge for the confidence of our team. The defense knew they could keep battling and come through.”
Recruiting turf
USC doesn’t compete with BYU in a lot of things. The two programs — one with an unquestioned Power Five label and the other wandering in the wilderness of Football Bowl Subdivision independence — have remarkably divergent program histories. Just consider a few historical points.
Yet based on simple geography, the Cougars and Trojans regularly compete for many of the same recruits. Nowhere is that more evident than in Jay Tufele, the Bingham High product who signed with USC two years ago and anchors a standout defensive line that allows 5.5 yards per play with 10 tackles and a sack.
“He’s a baller, a great player,” Sitake said of Tufele. “He’ll be a high draft pick. He’ll be a great matchup for our offensive line.
“We’ve gone against some really good D-lines along the way, and that defensive front is really athletic and talented. Jay is one of the guys that stands out. Chad Kauhaahaa is a great D-line coach, and he’ll have them ready. But that’s some great talent that he’s working with upfront.”
Sitake tried to recruit Tufele, who also visited his home state a year ago when USC lost to Utah, 41-28 in Rice-Eccles Stadium.
“It’ll be fun to see Jay here,” the BYU head coach said. “I wish he was in a different uniform since we recruited him, but he’ll be a good matchup for our guys.”
National platform
Coaches: BYU’s Kalani Sitake (4th year, BYU), USC’s Clay Helton (5th year, Houston)
Kickoff: 1:30 p.m. MDT
TV: ABC (Dave Pasch, Greg McElroy, Tom Luginbill)
Radio: KSL Newsradio, BYU Radio (Greg Wrubell, Riley Nelson, Mitchell Juergens)
Streaming: WatchESPN
Series: USC leads 2-0
All eyes will be on the Cougars and Trojans, with the Disney-owned ESPN broadcast company moving the game to ABC at 1:30 p.m. MDT. That’s a prime 3:30 eastern time slot — when some of college football’s top teams play every week — sandwiched between in-state rivals No. 13 Penn State and Pitt at 12:30, and top-ranked Clemson’s trip to the Carrier Dome against ACC foe Syracuse.
That’s a big stage and a big moment for the Cougars, even in the era of their exclusive broadcasting agreement with ESPN.
Emerging series
Saturday’s game will be the first between BYU and USC since LenDale White and Reggie Bush ran all over the Cougars en route to a 42-10 win during a BCS championship season.
“Those are the teams that make you decide which college to go to as a young football player,” BYU assistant head coach Ed Lamb said of the 2004 meeting. “It’s a tremendous opportunity for our guys when we get to play against teams like that. The motivation takes care of itself.”
It will also be the first of a new three-game series between the two sides, with BYU traveling to Los Angeles for both of the next two games in 2021 and 2023.
“There’s a lot of excitement going on with them,” Sitake said. “But we get them here at home, and we’re looking forward to it.”
