Utah football: 3 takeaways from huge upset of USC in Pac-12 title game

Dec 2, 2022; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Utah Utes quarterback Ja'Quinden Jackson (3) scores a touchdown against the Southern California Trojans during the first half of the PAC-12 Football Championship at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /

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For a second straight year, Utah football has beaten the Pac-12 favorite twice in a single season to eliminate them from the playoff and capture a conference title.

Last year, it was Oregon and this year it’s USC.

The Utes dominated the Trojans after USC built a 17-3 lead. It felt like USC was going to run away with an easy win, but the Utes locked down defensively, got back to the basics, and captured their second straight Pac-12 title with a nice little 44-7 run to end the game.

Utah is your back-to-back Pac-12 champ. What’d we learn from this big win?

3. Utah’s defense stole the show

Any game that Caleb Williams is playing in usually ends up with him being the star. He made some incredible plays on a gimpy leg, but the Utah defense was the star of Friday’s show.

The Utes did put up over 40 points (we’ll get to that later) but it was the defense that stepped up when the score was 17-3 in favor of the Trojans. Utah clamped down, made Williams and Co. work for every yard, and pretty much shut the door on the Trojans as they tried to fight for the last playoff spot.

Ohio State owes the Utes and their defense a massive thank you for that performance on Friday night because now the Buckeyes will likely be headed to the playoff.

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