Utes Look to Battle Through Adversity Against USC
This season has been a difficult one for Utah football. Between a couple of early losses and the tragic passing of Ty Jordan and Aaron Lowe—just nine months apart—the Utes have become accustomed to adversity. The season now won’t get any easier this weekend as they head to the LA Memorial Coliseum to take on the USC Trojans (3-2, 2-2) at 6 PM MST on FOX. Historically, the Coliseum has not been kind to the Utes who have lost 10 straight there dating back to their last win in 1916.
“The Coliseum has been a brutal place for us,” said Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham.
“We have not had much success there. We have to prepare and get ready and move forward which our team is ready to do. Our track record at the Coliseum hasn’t been good but that’s history and I’m hoping that has no bearing on this year.”
This game comes on the heels of the tragic murder of defensive back Aaron Lowe. In that two week span, players and coaches have come together using football as therapy to heal from the passing of their teammate and friend.
“When you need the leaders most is during the difficult times. It takes everything you’ve got to overcome it,” said Whittingham. “The best way to heal and get through this together is to get back to doing what they love and one of the main reasons they are here. Getting back to some sense of normalcy, but at the same time you never put it out of your mind. But, it’s a therapy in and of itself getting back on the field.”
Despite the adversity and the mourning taking place, the message to the team for the USC game remains the same.
“The message is we got to prepare and have a great week of practice just like it takes to win any ball game,” said Whittingham. “Our guys know what it takes to win at this level. It’s very challenging and it’s all-encompassing. You’ve got to do things right all week long. There is so much to the process. They get that and there is really no way around that regardless of circumstances.”
Offensive lineman Nick Ford also talked about what it will take to beat USC this week.
“I got a lot of confidence in our team. I know our offense has the capable players and plays,” he said. “Our coaches are capable of calling those plays. I have high confidence that when we go out there we are going to go out there to execute. We are going to execute play after play and get it done. There will be adversity. There is always adversity. As long as we address that adversity and get it fixed (we will keep rolling).”
For the Utes, a win this week would setup a huge showdown on October 16th against the Arizona State Sun Devils. It could also give them the momentum to completely flip the outlook of their season.
“If you look at the Pac-12 right now, we are one of the teams with no losses in conference. The opportunity is still on the table,” said Ford. “Sometimes you don’t start off as hot as you’d like but as long as that table gets turned in your favor then you got to keep running with it.”
Whittingham echoed Ford’s thoughts.
“We are two or three weeks in and there are only three out of 12 teams that don’t have a conference loss, so I think that tells you about the balance in this league,” said Whittingham. “The consistency is the inconsistency in the Pac-12, if that makes sense.”
It’s that inconsistency as a league known as one that loves to “eat their own,” that still gives Utah a golden opportunity. Despite their early struggles, the Utes’ season can go one of two ways. Tonight against the Trojans, they’ll look to set a more positive narrative to it.