Utah at No. 13 USC
Kickoff: Saturday, Oct. 15, 8:00 PM, ABC
The marquee matchup of the weekend is in the Pac-12 conference at 8:00 PM ET on Saturday evening — the prime-time ABC game.
USC is coming off of a win against Oregon State, while the Utes just had a brutal loss against Stanford at home.
Both teams were expected to be the cream of the crop in the Pac-12 conference, but have each lost a game, while Washington State remains undefeated heading into this weekend. It’ll be a defensive battle, with eyes on USC’s Sam Darnold.
Three Things to Watch
1. How will Utah rebound after a loss?
Utah was 4-0 heading into Week 6 and was looking to be one of the contenders for the Pac-12 title. They dropped a close game and now it’ll be interesting to see how they rebound from that game.
True contenders find a way to rebound after tough losses and come back even stronger, but it’s a tall order for Utah this week, heading to Southern California to play USC.
2. Can Utah slow down USC’s running backs?
Ronald Jones II and Stephen Carr have been a fantastic running back duo for the Trojans so far. Between the two of them, the Trojans are averaging nearly 182 yards per game on the ground.
On the flip side, Utah’s one of the better rushing defenses in the country. They’re only allowing 109 yards per game on the ground.
In this matchup, something has to give between the two teams. If USC can rush the ball consistently and set up Sam Darnold, I like their chances. But if Utah can snuff out the running game and force Darnold into difficult throws, it could be the Utes’ night.
3. Can Sam Darnold stop turning the ball over?
Sam Darnold came into the year as one of the top quarterback prospects and while he rose to the top early, he’s also taken a step back in recent weeks with his high turnover ratio.
Scouts and analysts feel that Darnold could probably use another year in college to really develop his game. He’s thrown for 12 touchdowns — which is great — but it’s come at the cost of nine interceptions — which isn’t so great.
It’ll be interesting to watch if Darnold can hold it together and not throw any more picks this week against a good Utah defense.
On the whole, I like USC at home, but not by a wide margin.
USC over Utah, 31-20.