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LOS ANGELES — As the refs signaled a successful field goal attempt, Utah players rushed the field at the LA Memorial Coliseum and swarmed placekicker Cole Becker after he drilled the game-winning field goal.
It may have been the most cathartic field goal attempt in Utah football history in the final meeting against USC before the two teams join new conferences next season. The win will likely mean little at the end of the season, but it was another instance — the fourth straight, to be exact — of Utah proving itself as one of the best programs out west (and against a blue blood like USC).
In the immediacy of the game's finality, Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham called it one of the top-five wins of his career — likely more based on Utah's ability to steal a win at the Coliseum with several players missing due to injury. But any win over USC brings added emotion, even if Utah has done it three times prior over the last couple years.
Regardless of the added emotions or where it falls in Whittingham's top games, it helped Utah jump up in the latest Associated Press Top 25 rankings that were released Sunday afternoon. With the win over the Trojans, the Utes moved up to No. 13, with a Saturday showdown against Oregon on the docket and ESPN's College GameDay coming to town.
Its the first time since 2016 that Saturday's game against Oregon (1:30 p.m. MDT, FOX) is the fifth time Salt Lake City has hosted ESPN's premier college football show, and the first since the 2016 season when Utah played Washington. The GameDay setup will take place on President's Circle on the campus of the University of Utah from 7-11 a.m. MDT Saturday.
We'll see you on Saturday, Utah 😎#CollegeGameDaypic.twitter.com/PCTAJxP8uS
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) October 22, 2023
Utah remains one of six teams ranked from the Pac-12, including USC, which dropped to No. 24. Washington remains the highest-ranked team from the Pac-12 at No. 5, followed by No. 8 Oregon, No. 11 Oregon State, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 USC.
At the top of the rankings remains Georgia, who was on a bye week. The Bulldogs received 38 first-place votes this week and are followed by No. 2 Michigan (19 first-place votes), No. 3 Ohio State (3), No. 4 Florida State (3) and No. 5 Washington.
