On Friday night at the LA Coliseum, it was the same as it has been over the last century, the University of Utah went toe-to-toe with the USC Trojans, but once again left without a win. This time, with the Trojans pulling off the upset, 30-23.
It was a sloppy game and a head scratcher, all rolled into one. The Utes committed 16 untimely penalties—one being called on head coach kyle Whittingham arguing a questionable holding call—and also failed to score a touchdown five times during seven trips inside the 30 yard-line.To make matters worse, two times, they failed to punch it in, inside the three yard-line.
“We need to take better advantage of our chances,” said quarterback Tyler Huntley, who did everything he could to keep his team in the game. He completed 22/30 passing for 210 yards and one touchdown, while also doing what he could to pick up for the loss of Zack Moss—carrying the ball 18 times for 60 yards.
It was an uncharacteristic night for the Utah secondary. The Utes decided to take the Trojans on by attacking them with their strength—man coverage—but it was apparent from the get-go that that was a risky call.
“That's a really talented group of receivers, I'm not sure we'll see a group that talented the rest of the year,” said Whittingham. “We just couldn't locate the ball and go up and make a play.”
USC quarterback Matt Fink, had to fill in for an injured Kedon Slovis, two plays into the game, but all he did was go in and carve up the secondary for 54 yards and a touchdown on the first drive. Then it all snowballed from there as he went 21/30 for 351 yards and three touchdowns. He completed passes in double-coverage, extended plays, and completed prayers that he heaved into the LA sky.
"I feel like we came out and we weren't ready,” said safety Terrell Burgess, who ended up with the lone interception. “We came out a little slow and just kept on going.”
The Utes are well aware that they now have an uphill battle and they’ll be impatiently waiting the test results for Moss. However, in a conference that eats its own, Burgess and the rest of the team knows that all is not lost and a lot of football is still ahead.
“We get back on Monday and we go as hard as we can,” Burgess. “Nobody in the south is going undefeated so we just got to keep moving forward and get ready for next week.”
The schedule doesn’t get any easier for the Utes, they’ll face off against a ranked Washington State squad, that so often seems to have Utah’s number, with their pass-happy attack.
"I think we come with the same game plan, but this week we get to redeem ourselves,” said safety Julián Blackmon. “We let them get us in the secondary. We expect the same thing coming next week."
Expecting the same next week, will mean that both coaches and players, alike, will need to make tweaks to their approach. It’s a perfect opportunity for redemption, as Blackmon said, but it’s about to be a long week for them learning from their mistakes.
