USC vs. Utah score, takeaways: Utes drill walk-off FG as Trojans defense again collapses in key moments

LOS ANGELES — No. 14 Utah stormed back late to defeat No. 18 USC 34-32 on a last-second field goal by Utes kicker Cole Becker to likely eliminate the Trojans from College Football Playoff mix for the second consecutive season. The Colorado transfer converted the 38-yard field goal attempt to give Utah a win in a rematch of last season’s Pac-12 title game. 

Utah (6-1, 3-1 Pac-12) improved to 3-0 against the Lincoln Riley-and-Caleb Williams-led Trojans and put themselves right back in the mix to three-peat as Pac-12 champions with five games remaining on the schedule. USC got a spark late on a 61-yard punt return by star freshman Zachariah Branch, and an ensuing 11-yard touchdown run from Williams gave USC the lead with under two minutes remaining. But as has become common under Riley, the defense couldn’t couldn’t get one final stop.

The Utes used a steady diet of Ja’Quinden Jackson and Sione Vaki on the ground to control the time of possession and neutralize a lethal USC offense that came into the weekend averaging 47.3 points per game. The Utes defense allowed 14 points in the first seven minutes of the game and settled down before the Trojans attempted a late comeback.

USC (6-2, 4-1 Pac-12) dropped its second consecutive game after suffering a blowout loss to Notre Dame last weekend in South Bend, Indiana. The Trojans have lost three games to Pac-12 opponents in the Riley era — all three to this Utes program.

The Trojans allowed 483 yards of offense to a Utah team that ranked last in yards in the Pac-12 coming into the game and have been playing the season without starting quarterback and team leader Cameron Rising due to a major knee injury suffered in January’s Rose Bowl loss to Penn State. 

Utah backup quarterback Bryson Barnes has been filling in for Rising this season, and he turned in the best performance of his college career against a lackluster USC defense. Barnes tossed a career-high three touchdown passes and completed 14 of 22 passes for 235 yards.

Utah has another critical test next weekend at home against No. 9 Oregon, while USC goes on the road to face Cal. 

Utah right back in Pac-12 title game mix

After Utah suffered a 21-7 loss to Oregon State on the road in late-September, the quest to three-peat as conference champions looked dire. The offense looked sluggish and the Utes put up only 198 yards of total offense. Worst of all, they struggled to find an identity at quarterback in the absence of Rising by rotating Barnes and Nate Johnson.

Just a little under a month later, Utah had its best offensive performance of the season against USC and Barnes had the greatest statical performance of his college career. The win over USC gives Utah something to build off on offense as the Utes are right back in the mix to get back to the conference title game. A date next weekend with Oregon in Salt Lake City, Utah, could decide whether Utah will be one of the representatives in Las Vegas on Dec. 1. Utah controls its own destiny with games against the Ducks, Washington and Colorado on the schedule.

Another season wasted

There has never been a two-loss team in the College Football Playoff field. With nine unbeaten FBS teams remaining and multiple one-loss programs in prime position to win their respective conferences, USC has essentially been eliminated from CFP contention. 

Last season, USC was on the doorstep of the CFP despite a midseason loss to Utah in the regular season. All the Trojans had to do was knock off Utah in the Pac-12 title game and they would be all but almost guaranteed a spot in the field. That didn’t happen, and the Trojans ended the season with an embarrassing loss to Tulane in the Cotton Bowl. The bright spot was that the reigning Heisman Trophy winner Williams was returning. USC was in prime position to be the top team in the Pac-12 because of the improved offensive weapons around Williams and the work the Trojans did in the transfer portal. With consecutive losses to Notre Dame and Utah, however, USC is closer to falling out of the rankings entirely than earning a berth to compete for a national championship. 

The USC defense hasn’t improved under defensive coordinator Alex Grinch since last season. The Trojans are near the bottom of the conference in almost all statistical categories on that side of the ball and it appears the struggles at the start of Pac-12 play have finally caught up to them. With Williams poised to leave for the NFL Draft this spring, the Riley/Williams era will be remembered as a massive “what if” unless massive changes are made in the final weeks of the season.