GAME BALLS: Utah vs. USC

The University of Utah closed their Pac-12 chapter against the USC Trojans on Saturday with a 34-32 last-second victory. Kicker Cole Becker made the 38-yard field goal to topple the Trojans in Los Angeles – the first game-winning kick as time expired for Utah since Louie Sakoda did it vs. Oregon State in 2008.

Let's hand out our game balls:

Offense:

Bryson Barnes has the “dog” in him. Coming into a tough environment Barnes took command of the offense and willed Utah to the win despite a few mistakes. Because of this, he’s our pick for the offensive game ball. On the first offensive drive of the game, Barnes topped off the three-play drive by connecting with Sione Vaki for a 53 yard touchdown for an early 7-0 lead, but that was short lived. The Trojans would respond right back with MarShawn Lloyd rushing for a 45 yard rushing touchdown to tie the game 7-7.

Shortly into the second quarter, Utah found themselves down 7-14. On the Utes' next possession, freshman Mikey Matthews returned the kick-off for 48 yards, setting up Barnes and the offense with good field position. Barnes then led the offense on an eight-play, 47 yard drive that was capped off with a 10 yard QB scramble, as he went untouched into the endzone to even the score, 14-14.

“They’ve got a Heisman Trophy winner at quarterback, so they’re gonna make some things and that’s just the way it is,” Whittingham said. “But we’ve got ourselves a pig farmer at quarterback, so we’re proud of that guy too. They love him and what a warrior he is. We saw that grit that he has on that last drive, was QB runs, and found a way to win; that’s what this team is this year.”

In the third quarter, backed by an impressive run game, Barnes extended a play near the goal line and connected with tight end Landen King for a 6-yard touchdown. Utah regained the lead on the play, 21-14.

Barnes finished his special night throwing for 235 yards, three touchdowns and one interception on 14 of 23 passing. He also added 10 carries for 57 yards and a touchdown.

His lone mistake came on a pick-6 at the start of the fourth quarter. Not ideal, but he’d redeem himself as the clock ticked down and all Utah hope looked lost. With 16 seconds left in the game and the Utes trailing by one, Barnes broke free for a 26 yard run to set up a 38 yard Becker game-winning field goal as time expired.

“Bryson is gonna be Bryson,” said running back Ja’Quinden Jackson. “He’s a competitor and he’s smart. We definitely believe in that guy.”

Other standouts included Jackson, who now has two full games finally healthy and led the team with 117 yards rushing. During the game, he hit 1,000 yards rushing in his career since transitioning to running back in the middle of last season from quarterback. Additionally, Utah has uncovered an offensive star in Sione Vaki. For the second straight week, the safety/running back dazzled on offense. He lit up the Trojan defense with 217 total yards including 149 receiving yards and two touchdowns on five receptions.

All three of Jackson, Vaki, and Barnes willed the offense to a special performance. It was Barnes, however, who got the game ball, after out-dueling Caleb Williams, who had been a recent favorite to win back-to-back Heisman trophies.

Defense:

After two early touchdowns by the Trojans, it looked like their offense was going to roll. But Utah's defense made halftime adjustments—including getting safety Cole Bishop back from his targeting suspension. In the third, they held the Trojans to only a field at the end of the quarter.

The defensive ball goes to defensive end Van Filinger, who delivered the key hit to MarShawn Lloyd forcing a fumble that Cole Bishop recovered. That set the Utes up in good field position, leading to a 15-yard Sione Vaki touchdown and extending Utah’s lead to 14. Filinger finished the game with four solo tackles and one sack.

“I think it was really our defensive front taking over and getting really good pressure on Caleb, and plus we were covering well in the secondary,” Whittingham said. “We had good coverage back there, and so we just got a little bit of rhythm on defense.”

Utah applied pressure throughout the game, sacking Williams three times. The other two sacks came from Connor O’Toole and Jonah Elliss. Lander Barton led the Utes with nine total tackles before his unfortunate season-ending injury. Cole Bishop finished his one half of football making an immediate impact with three total tackles and the crucial fumble recovery. Bishop’s presence alone makes Utah a more challenging defense.

Coming into this game, the Trojans were averaging 47.3 points per game, but the Utes held them to just 25 points. Crazy enough, that’s the most Utah has given up all season.