The USC Trojans take on the Utah Utes in the PAC 12 Championship on Friday night from Allegiant Stadium. These two played one of the best games of the college football season back in October, with the Utes dealing USC their only loss, albeit in Utah. With this one at a neutral site, the Trojans will be eyeing revenge. Utah dominated Colorado last week to get back onto the winning path, while USC has won five in a row since that October 15th loss. This expects to be one of the most exciting games of the college football weekend and with it leading the way on Friday, is one that fans won't want to miss.
Utah was a preseason top-ten team and while in their minds, things might not have gone exactly the way they would want this season, they still find themselves one win from repeating as PAC 12 champions. Losses to UCLA and Oregon over the last few months, by a combined 13 points, show that this team has quite a bit of quality. Back in October, they were able to score 43 points against the Trojans, and while that might be difficult for them to replicate on Friday night, it should at least give them the confidence to not back down in this one. The concern is if the defense can improve on that performance though, especially considering that they won't be playing at home.
It should certainly help things that the Utes have been able to stay healthy, especially of late. Brant Kuithe (leg) has been out since September and while he continues to be missed, there's no reason to think that the Utes can't continue to f ind success without him.
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?Championship bound. pic.twitter.com/JJLAfJv0mV
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) November 27, 2022
Utah's offense has shown that they can score and considering the lack of defensive prowess by USC, it'll likely fall on the defense to keep the Trojans at bay. Utah's defense struggled to slow down the Trojans in the first game and they'll need to be far more disciplined in this one. Utah's defense ranks 17th nationally in total defense but against the pass is where they'll need to focus their energy. Ranked 36th nationally against the pass, they'll have their hands full against USC's sixth-ranked passing defense. Their two leading tacklers, Cole Bishop (68 tackles) and RJ Hubert (66 tackles) both expect to make their names known at safety. The gamechanger expects to be Clark Phillips III (6 interceptions) and his matchup against USC's wide receiver core is one to watch.