Thoughts on Thursday: #13 USC Trojans v. Utah Utes Preview and Prediction
By Rich Lynch
This week the USC Trojans brought Traveler the Horse and the rest of the program up from Los Angeles to Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City to play PAC-12 Conference foe Utah. Both teams have won all of their home games have lost all of their road games — USC beat Syracuse on a neutral field. The battle tonight at 9pm ET on ESPN could be a trend breaker.
USC is playing well this season. USC is led by senior Matt Barkley, who came back to the Trojans for his final season in order to win: the PAC-12 Championship, the national championship and the Heisman Trophy. None of those feats appear to be feasible after the loss the Stanford. However, that is subject to change. Barkley is completing 62 percent of his passes for 1005 yards, 12 touchdowns and five interceptions. His primary targets are Marqise Lee and Robert Woods, who have 65 receptions, 660 yards and 10 touchdowns combined. Silas Redd, thePenn State transfer, is pacing the Trojans in the running game with 338 yards and four touchdowns.
The Trojans defense allows 17 points per game, which ranks 28th nationally.
The Utah Utes are led by quarterback Jon Hays, who has completed 59 percent of his passes for 467 yards, four touchdowns and one interception in three games since taking over for Jordan Wynn. Hays throws to a trio of receivers including Kenneth Scott, Dres Anderson and Jake Murphy, who have 23 receptions for 341 yards and five touchdowns as a group this season.
Utah is allowing opponents to score a respectable 21 points per game, which ranks them 44th nationally.
Look for the Trojans to play efficient offense and solid defense. In this game, Utah will play as well on offense as it does on defense. However, the Trojans have too much talent and horse power.
Final Score: USC 32 and Utah 17