Andrew Vorhees injury comes back to haunt USC against tougher, stronger Utah team

Andrew Vorhees is and has been USC’s best offensive lineman. He is the best NFL draft prospect on the Trojans’ offensive line, the lineman most likely to be a first-round draft pick. He left the Notre Dame game one week ago in the second half. The discussion surrounding his playing status for Friday’s Pac-12 Championship Game against Utah was very quiet, but it became clear just before kickoff that he would not be able to play.

Safe to say, this mattered quite a lot. Mason Murphy had to be slotted at right tackle. Against Arizona, Cal, and Colorado, USC could get by without Vorhees being fully healthy. Against Utah? Nope. The Utes are too physical, too deep, and simply too good.

Here’s a taste of the in-game reaction to Vorhees’ injury absence, and how much it affected USC against Utah:

THE NEWS

HARD TO IGNORE

WORN OUT

A LOT

DOMINO EFFECT

RESULTS SUFFERED

BASIC MATH

EVERYONE CAN SEE IT

IT SHOWED

PLAIN AS DAY

REALITY

VERY

THIS PROVED TO BE TRUE

MIKE JACK, TOO

AS HUGE AS WE THOUGHT

WITHOUT VORHEES

BUILD THAT DEPTH

DEPLETED

ACCUMULATION

CRUSHING

Story originally appeared on Trojans Wire