9:00 PM EST, FS1 – Line: Utah -3.5, Over/Under: 50.5
A crucial Pac-12 fixture serves as prelude to the fourth weekend of College Football, as the Southern California Trojans play host to the No. 10 Utah Utes, from Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. In a season in which none of their number has managed to distinguish themselves from the rest of the Pac-12, Utah (3-0, 0-0 in Pac-12) looks to do exactly that as they look to get off to a 4-0 start for the fourth time in five years. Indeed, the Utes have been met with very little resistance throughout the nonconference part of their schedule, having hammered rolled right on over the likes of BYU (30-12), Northern Illinois (35-17), and most recently Idaho State (31-0), averaging 32.0 Points per Game (62nd Overall) on a very balanced 439.2 Total Yards, including 213.3 Yards via the Pass, and another 226.0 Yards via the Run. Kyle Whittingham was handed a major boost with the return of a pair of Seniors on Offense, his Quarterback, Tyler Huntley (77.8%, 602 YDS, 11.1 Y/A, 4 TD, 0 INT), and his Tailback, Zack Moss (57 CAR, 373 YDS, 6.5 Y/C, 4 TD), who have led the charge offensively in the early going of the season. Huntley, who the folks out in Sal Lake City have been waiting to make good on his lofty potential, appears to have been saving his best for last; the versatile passer has looked far more comfortable in the Pocket than he has in years past, completing 77.8% of his Attempts for an average of 200.7 Yards per Game on a healthy 11.1 Yards per Attempt, with Four Touchdowns and most importantly, Zero Interceptions. With Whittingham placing more of an emphasis on the Rushing Attack, Huntley has had to be more judicious when striking downfield, which has been a successful gameplan thus far, with a pair of Sophomores, Bryan Thompson (4 REC, 171 YDS, 42.8 Y/R, 2 TD) and Brant Kuithe (7 REC, 143 YDS, 20.4 Y/R, 1 TD), combining for some huge plays; the former has caught just four passes this season, but has scored on half of them, averaging a whopping 42.8 Yards per Reception, while the latter is only reeling in 20.4 Yards per Catch. Of course, affording them the luxury of making such tremendous plays is the ground game, which has been led by the aforementioned Moss, who has been nothing short of impressive at this juncture of the campaign. One of the most productive rushers in college football that you probably have never heard of, Moss looks to end his tenure with the program with his third consecutive 1,000-Yard/10+ TD season, averaging 124.3 Rushing Yards on a career-high 6.5 Yards per Carry through three games. When we last saw him, he accounted for 106 of his team’s 223 Rushing Yards in the victory over FCS side, Idaho State, needing only Ten Carries to do so. Huntley had no problems either, completing an efficient 15-of-19 for 282 Yards and Three Touchdowns, all but one of which went to Thompson, who racked up 105 Yards on those two scoring plays alone. Indeed, both Huntley and Moss will be relishing an opportunity to embarrass USC once again, particularly after trouncing the Trojans in last year’s meeting in Salt Lake City, a 41-28 thumping in which the former accounted for Five Touchdowns, while the latter rushed for 140 Yards on Twenty-Five Carries. However, when discussing the Utes, it’s impossible to do so without mentioning their Defense, particularly their Defensive Line, which may be the most physically-imposing group in the country. Their is plenty of beef in these trenches, folks, with a pair of Senior Defensive Tackles, Leki Fotu (7 TKL, 2.5 TFL) and John Penisini (6 TKL, 1.5 TFL) weighing in at 335 and 333 pounds apiece. They’ve remained a BIG reason as to why this unit has relegated the opposition to a scant 9.7 Points per Game (6th Overall) on just 239.3 Total Yards, including 174.3 Yards against the Pass, and another 65.0 Yards versus the Run. In last year’s meeting with Southern Cal, the Defense turned in a rather inspired showing, permitting just 205 Total Yards and forcing a pair of Turnovers. Replicating such a performance would go a long way towards earning the program’s first victory at USC since the school relocated to the Pac-12 back in 2011. Furthermore, tonight’s affair marks the beginning of a crucial stretch for Whittingham and his charges, who within conference play will battle four ranked opponents in their next six games, with No. 19 Washington State and their prolific Offense up next in a week’s time.
Meanwhile, the seat is getting hotter at Southern California (2-1,1-0 in Pac-12) for Clay Helton, who has been the subject of intense pressure following last season’s disappointing 5-7 finish which left the Trojans without a postseason appearance. To put that into proper perspective for you, USC has gone without a Bowl just twice since 2001, and that was because they were banned from doing so in 2010 and 2011. In terms of losing seasons, you would have to go all the way back to 2000, which was the final stages of brief, Paul Hackett administration. Granted, Helton has tried to do everything possible to put last season’s disappointment behind him, stepping up his recruiting efforts while also ceding his offensive playcalling duties, first to former Texas Tech Head Coach, Kliff Kingsbury, who was intended to be his Offensive Coordinator, only to see the Arizona Cardinals pry him away after just a few months on the job, before ultimately settling on Graham Harrell, another product of the Red Raiders’ system. After a few years on Mike Leach’s Staff up in Pullman, Harrell successfully coordinated North Texas’ insanely prolific attack from 2016 to 2018 before arriving at Southern California. Reloaded with a more contemporary approach, many believed that the Trojans were poised to bounce back from 2018’s struggles, and they may have if not for their Season Opener. Despite besting Fresno State in 31-23 victory in which the Offense rang up 447 Total Yards, the hosts unfortunately lost their Starting Quarterback, J.T. Daniels, for the season after the Sophomore tore his ACL late in the affair. Indeed, it’s a crushing blow to lose your No. One at the game’s most important position, forcing Helton and Harrell to immediately rely upon their depth, with the young Kedon Slovis (77.3%, 715 YDS, 8.5 Y/A, 5 TD, 4 INT), stepping up to take over the following week against conference rival, Stanford. What transpired had to have given the embattled Head Coach hope moving forward, as Slovis went on to author one of the most impressive performances in school history by a True Freshman, completing 28-of-33 Passes for 377 Yards, Three Touchdowns and Zero Interceptions, setting a school record by a Freshman in their debut under Center. The Underclassmen played beyond his years against the Cardinal, spreading the wealth to eight different targets, led by Tyler Vaughns (23 REC, 321 YDS, 14.0 Y/R, 1 TD), who reeled in Five Receptions for 106 Yards, and Amon-Ra St. Brown (14 REC, 139 YDS, 9.9 Y/R, 2 TD), who added Eight Catches for Ninety-Seven Yards and a pair of Touchdowns. However, as great as they looked, it should be noted that Stanford was also dealing with injuries at Quarterback, which clearly reflected in the Trojans’ 42-20 victory. The real test would come the following week, at BYU, in which Slovis would face his first true test on the road. And that went about as poorly as anyone could have expected. Credit to Southern Cal for pushing the contest into Overtime, particularly the 52-Yard Field Goal that did so, but their Quarterback really wore his inexperience on his sleeve, throwing three Interceptions in the 27-30 defeat, the last of which ended the affair in the extra period. Despite completing 24-of-34 Attempts for 281 Yards and a pair of Touchdowns, Slovis and the Offense were rather dysfunctional throughout the trip to Provo, with a pair of promising drives ending with an Interception in the First Quarter, followed later by a third stanza in which they attempted only one pass, and came away with just three points (that aforementioned Field Goal) in their final three drives of Regulation. As is the case with Utah, this particular meeting marks the start of a crucial stretch for Southern Cal, who will meet the likes of No. 10 Utah, No. 22 Washington, and No. 7 Notre Dame in succession, the latter two contests being played away from home. Indeed, Helton and Harrell don’t have much time to get their young Quarterback prepared for this hellish run of fixtures, which is likely to have major implications on his job security. After all, the brass at USC won’t tolerate mediocrity for very long…