Matt Fink chose to stay at USC and was rewarded

Quarterback Matt Fink was set to transfer to Illinois. After last night’s win over Utah, Fink’s decision to return to USC has been worthwhile for a night.

Times have been tumultuous for the USC Trojans in recent months. Head coach Clay Helton has been on the hot seat for a while now. USC will be looking for a new athletic director after former football legend Lynn Swann resigned. Even the quarterback position has lacked stability so far this season.

USC entered play on Friday night at home versus the division rival Utah Utes with their backs up against it. Utah was the No. 10 team in the nation. The Trojans had lost on the road to the unranked BYU Cougars in Provo the week before. USC had lost starting quarterback J.T. Daniels for the season in Week 1’s win over the Fresno State Bulldogs.

Redshirt sophomore Jack Sears was unhappy with his role on the team and has opted to enter the transfer portal. Kedon Slovis emerged as the new USC starting quarterback after Daniels’ injury in Week 1. He defeated the then-No. 23 Stanford Cardinal in his first start of the season, but fell to BUY in Provo in the third game of the year.

With USC as a home dog versus Utah, things were not looking good once Slovis had to exit the game with a head injury. That’s when third-stringer Matt Fink made the most of his biggest opportunity to date.

Fink, who was third on the USC quarterbacking depth chart behind Daniels and Slovis to begin the season, was set to transfer to Illinois this past spring. He had entered the transfer portal and was going to join Lovie Smith’s team in Champaign-Urbana after a campus visit. However, Fink opted to come back to the USC program in 2019. Fate would have it USC needed him on Friday night.

Fink came in after the second play from scrimmage following Slovis’ injury and delivered the biggest game of his life. He completed 21 of 30 passes for 351 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. Fink averaged an impressive 11.7 yards per attempt and had a QBR of 87.4 in USC’s 30-23 upset victory over the Utes in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Friday night.

While Fink didn’t win the starting job out of camp, Helton told him this before the start of the season, “Your time is coming. You just don’t know when.” Well, “when” was Friday night and Fink could not have looked cooler under pressure.

Fink said after the game to the Los Angeles Times, “I don’t think this moment was too big for me. Getting in today and showing them what I can do, this is what I really wanted to do by staying here.”

It was the type of performance that had former USC legends like Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush impressed. Both former Heisman Trophy winners were at the Coliseum as part of FOX’s coverage of the ball game. They saw Fink in his finest hour and perhaps a moment that will unite the Trojan Family going forward.

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USC improves 3-1 on the year and 2-0 in Pac-12 play. Not only did the Trojans outplay a Utah team that struggled throughout most of the contest, but USC is now in the driver’s seat in the Pac-12 South. Utah was seen as the favorite in the division, poised to get back to the conference championship and vie for an outside shot at the College Football Playoff.

With USC now having the head-to-head tiebreaker, the Trojans have to feel good about their chances of meeting the Pac-12 North winner at Levi’s Stadium entering late September. They just beat the best team in their division at home. It’s not like the Arizona State Sun Devils are an offensive juggernaut either under Herm Edwards.

Of course, things could change in an instant at USC. Slovis may recapture his starting role over Fink once he’s healthy and the Trojan’s season could spiral out of control in the ensuing weeks. USC’s next two games are against on the road against Washington Huskies and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. USC will probably not be favored in either contest.

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All that aside, for one night, Fink was the hero that USC needed in getting their biggest win of the season so far. USC isn’t perfect, far from it. But Fink certainly impressed in his first bit of meaningful action at USC. He should be glad he didn’t transfer and so should Helton. There is a lesson to be learned here: do the right thing and your opportunity to shine will come.