Who would have thought that the first Southern Division game of 2019 for the Trojans would be the biggest game of the year. Utah is in town and they are sitting in the #10 position for the College Playoffs. They are rising and rising on defense as always. Defense wins championships. The offense just has to be good not great. If you don’t have a good defense then the Offense has to take risks and be Great. We have seen how that turns out for teams that can score at ill (Oregon) but never capture the flag.
Friday Night Lights in the LA Coliseum will be an interesting arriving crowd. A Friday night ride home is hell on wheels but if you are also planning a ride on the 110 East to arrive at the Coliseum to see the kickoff you best plan on leaving Thursday and huddle up over night. It’s a zoo on any day in Los Angels but Friday’s?
UTES ON THE ROAD Utah is currently 246-253-12 (.492) all-time when playing on the road. Utah has only won one game in Los Angeles against the Trojans when the Utes won 27-12 in 1916, which was the second game in the all-time series against USC after beating them at home in 1915.
Comments from Coach Kyle Whittingham curteosy of Utah Utes News
“Into conference play now. We have wrapped up the non-conference. As I mentioned after the game on Saturday, we are in the position we expected to be and did everything that we had hoped, which is to go 3-0. We head down to the L.A. Memorial Coliseum this week with a short turnaround with a Friday night game. It excels your preparation. We have to have a great three or four days of preparation and go down there and hopefully play well. They are a potent team. They have a lot of talent on that team. There is no difference in their talent level now than any year we have played them since joining the Pac-12 in my estimation. They have a receiving core that is one of the best in the country. Of course, the quarterback has only had a few games and was thrust in there due to injury. They have talent. It is USC. There is nothing different than what we have experience for nine years now.”
Coach Whittinghams View Of the USC Air Raid
“Washington State is still a different animal compared to USC when you talk about the run-pass ratio. USC is much more balanced. The thing that creates the problems is the three wide receivers because those guys are really good. Those guys are as good of a crew as anyone in the country – maybe the best in the country as far as sheer ability, so that presents a challenge. Their running back runs hard, they’ve got two they use. They’ve got weapons. Their offensive line is their usual guys. They are big, strong guys and they are athletic.”
While it’s a shame that a Game 4 has so much pressure on it as the Pac-12 Season starts to take shape it’s the biggest opportunity for this years Trojans to make a National statement. Beating #10 after losing to BYU on the road and taking control of your own destiny is a statement win. Young teams can rise and fall on emotion. They seem to be very focused and supportive of Coach Helton which from a next game perspective is very important. Let’s not forget these kids lost on the road at altitude in OT. If you are going to lose that’s not a bad way to go. Not that I like to lose under any conditions it is a competitive analysis with some questionable offensive and defensive choices.
How do I think this game will go? Vegas is pointing to #10 Utah by 4-4.5 points. I’m going to lean on the Trojans and the fans of the team to get them over this team and defend the run of wins against Utah when at the Coliseum. Im seeing this as a final score of USC 20 Utah 17 in a trench fight from the opening series.
Fight On Beat The Utes
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