USC Trojans win big at home against the Utah Utes in convincing fashion

The USC Trojans looked sharp on both sides of the ball to start the game and looked equally sharp for most of the evening. The defense held strong , forcing the Utes into an obvious passing situation before forcing the punt. The offense drove down the field with relative ease as Kessler moved about in the pocket to avoid the rush, got several wide receivers involved and Helton even relied on the rushing attack, it was about as great of a start as USC could have hoped for.

The Utes then marched the ball right back down the field and tied the game. The Utah special teams then pinned USC back on the ensuing kickoff. Utah stuffed USC forcing a punt from deep in their own endzone. Utah ran it back to the USC three and punched the ball into the end zone on the very next play. Utah took a 14-7 lead.

In the Second quarter with USC trailing 14-7 Cameron Smith snagged a huge interception returning the ball to the Utah 4 yard line. It took 4 plays, a general refusal to run the ball and a review, but USC was able to punch the ball in for the touchdown tying the game at 14. The Trojans followed up with another strong touchdown drive taking the lead.

Late in the first half with USC leading 21-14 the Utes decided to go for it on 4th and two, Wilson rolled out and delivered a pass right to Cam Smith who picked up his second interception of the game but this one he returned to the endzone giving the Trojans a 28-14 lead Utah was able to tack on a field goal giving the Trojans a 28-17 lead at the half.

2nd Half

Both teams came out sloppy to start the third quarter it was obvious that any momentum either team had at the end of the first half was lost at halftime. With 3:45 left in the third quarter the Trojans drove the ball down the field and once again in a fourth and goal scenario USC went for it and dove into end zone on a quarterback sneak extending the Trojans lead to 35-17. The drive chewed up about 8 minutes, for over 80 yards.

The big lead late in the game limited the effectiveness of the run game for Utah. The Trojans were able to capitalize by pinning their ears back on defense and slowing the Utah Offense down. Cameron Smith was able to pick up a 3rd interception with about 9 minutes left in the game.

The Trojans offense slowed the pace down and continued chew up clock on long drives extending the lead to 42-17 failed to capitalize on the third Cam Smith interception when Alex Wood missed a field goal.

This talented USC Trojan squad showed up motivated and ready to play tonight securing the 42-24 victory over the #3 team in the country.