Saturday Blitz
Fansided

Utah Football: 3 bold predictions for Pac-12 opener vs. USC

By David Harvey

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - OCTOBER 7: Head coach of the Utah Utes Kyle Whittingham talk to his players during the first half of an college football game against the Stanford Cardinal on October 7, 2017 at Rice Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by George Frey/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - OCTOBER 7: Head coach of the Utah Utes Kyle Whittingham talk to his players during the first half of an college football game against the Stanford Cardinal on October 7, 2017 at Rice Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by George Frey/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 4
Next
TEMPE, AZ – NOVEMBER 10: Quarterback Manny Wilkins #5 of the Arizona State Sun Devils is sacked by defensive end Hunter Dimick #49 of the Utah Utes during the second half of the college football game at Sun Devil Stadium on Novemebr10, 2016 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
TEMPE, AZ – NOVEMBER 10: Quarterback Manny Wilkins #5 of the Arizona State Sun Devils is sacked by defensive end Hunter Dimick #49 of the Utah Utes during the second half of the college football game at Sun Devil Stadium on Novemebr10, 2016 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

2. Utah’s defense plays big

The defensive side of the ball has been Utah’s strong suit thus far this season. The Utes have scored two touchdowns on defense, recorded five turnovers total and have sacked the opposing quarterback seven times. As a team, they’ve only allowed a total of 29 points through three games.

Linebacker Devin Loyd has two sacks through three games. Defensive back Julian Blackmon has two interceptions in as many games. He also took the interception against BYU all the way back 39 yards for a touchdown. This defense is hungry and ready for a tougher test.

USC on the other side of the line of scrimmage has struggled mightily. They have allowed a total of four sacks for negative-31 yards this season. They are averaging a little over four tackles for loss per game. The Trojans look to be out-manned in the trenches in this game.

Look for the freshman quarterback Kedon Slovis to have pressure up the middle all night long. That pressure tends to create negative plays from a quarterback who isn’t seasoned yet. The penetration and the added pressure of playing from behind will likely call for more passing attempts than the Trojans would like in this one.

I predict that Utah will have three turnovers, two sacks and five tackles for a loss against a sub-par offensive line.

Home/Utah Utes