Mistake-prone Utes hurt their chances for glory with another loss in the Coliseum

LOS ANGELES — Kyle Whittingham was well aware of what was at stake Friday night.

Earlier in the week, the Ute coach talked about how the college football world would be focused on his team. Players and coaches holed up in their hotel rooms awaiting their Saturday games, as well as fans all over the country with nothing better to do, would be watching Utah and USC go at it on national television. They’d find out if the 10th-ranked Utes were for real or not.

“It certainly matters,” he said. “You’re under the spotlight, so it’s important you play well. Your brand is out there and you’re getting exposure. But you’ve got to play well.”

Too bad for the Utes, they didn’t play well, or well enough, as they lost — again — to the Trojans at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The 30-23 defeat marked the ninth straight for the Utes in Los Angeles dating back to 1919.

As the Utes hung their heads as the final seconds ticked off, the USC student section starting chanting “overrated.” 

Perhaps the Utes are.

1 of 21

2 of 21

3 of 21

4 of 21

5 of 21

6 of 21

7 of 21

8 of 21

9 of 21

10 of 21

11 of 21

12 of 21

13 of 21

14 of 21

15 of 21

16 of 21

17 of 21

18 of 21

19 of 21

20 of 21

21 of 21

If ever there was a year for the Utes to break their century-old streak of losses in LA, this seemed to be the year. The Utes have their most highly-touted team in years, were picked to win the Pac-12 and came in unbeaten with the No. 10 ranking in the country.

On the other hand, the Trojans were coming off a bad defeat to Utah’s rival BYU last week. 

But a boatload of penalties, a leaky secondary and a fumble at the 2-yard line in the first half and a poor play at the 1-yard line in the fourth quarter as well as a blocked field goal try were too much for the Utes to overcome.

It didn’t matter that Utah had 11 more first downs and gained 76 more yards than the Trojans. It’s hard to win when you have the third-most penalties in Utah football history (16) and give up five passes of more than 25 yards and manage just 3 points on two tries inside the 2-yard line.

While the Utes had a lot to play for Friday, the Trojans may have been a little more desperate. After the loss to BYU last week, their backs were up against the wall, especially considering their next two games coming up are road games against nationally ranked teams Washington and Notre Dame. With a loss Friday, they could have been staring at a 3-4 start.

Someone in the press box said before the game that if the Utes blew out the Trojans Friday night that coach Clay Helton might be fired before he made it home for the evening. That didn’t happen, but the beleaguered coach still might be looking over his shoulder the next few weeks if his team doesn’t keep winning.

In losing, the Utes could use the excuse that they didn’t have their star running back, Zack Moss, who went out in the first half with a shoulder injury. But the Trojans lost their starting quarterback Kedon Slovis on the second play of the game and had to go with inexperienced Matt Fink. However, all the junior did was throw for 351 yards on 21 of 30 completions. 

Four years ago, the Utes came down to the Coliseum with a No. 3 ranking, thanks in part to a thrashing of Oregon on the road, but laid an egg, losing 41-24 in a game that wasn’t that close. Two years ago, the Utes jumped out to a 21-7 halftime lead, gave up three straight touchdowns, then scored late, only to fail on a winning 2-point conversion try. 

The Utes seemed ready to break the streak this time, talking confidently all week before the game. Moss said the Utes would “add to the wound” that BYU gave the Trojans last week. Someone — a Ute fan presumably — had even paid for a plane to fly circles over the Coliseum for three solid hours before the game.

But the Trojans chose to take the opening kickoff and punched the Utes in the mouth with two quick touchdown drives of 80 and 75 yards and never trailed. 

Things don’t get any easier for the Utes who must face the Air Raid offense of Washington State and Mike Leach, which will come to Rice-Eccles Stadium next Saturday in what will likely be Utah’s toughest home test of the season. After giving up 351 yards through the air Friday, the Utes should be a little nervous with the Cougars coming in. 

Things will lighten up a bit after that with a bye and a road game at league doormat Oregon State. And all is not lost for the Utes, who still have a chance to win the Pac-12 South if someone else in the league will help them by knocking off the Trojans.

But the Utes let a big one get away Friday night and they know it.