USC Football: 3 takeaways from thrilling upset over Utah in Week 4

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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – AUGUST 31: Drake Jackson #99 of the USC Trojans tackles Ronnie Rivers #20 of the Fresno State Bulldogs for a loss during the second half at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on August 31, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

1. USC’s elite talent played to its potential

The Utah program is build on discipline and playing mistake-free football. One reason the Utes play that way is they don’t recruit at the level USC does.

The Trojans, on the other hand, have the best trio of receivers in the Pac-12. They have four and five-star recruits all over the field. On Friday night, they played like it.

The defensive line was unblockable almost all night — the Trojans ran stunts, and Utah couldn’t block it. It freed up USC’s linebackers, and they responded with six tackles for loss. In key parts of the game — usually when Utah was second and third-and-off-schedule — Utah had no answers for the USC defensive line play.

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Offensively, USC’s skill position players out-played the Utes defense. Led by Michael Pittman, the receivers took advantage of single coverage and poor safety play all night long. USC’s offensive line had answers for every adjustment Utah made along its defensive line. The Trojan line gave Matt Fink time to throw and he responded. He made sure that he put the ball on time to his skilled players, and they made Utah pay for not covering on the back-end better.

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