Many consider it the Pac-12 Game of the Year.
It happened Oct. 15, when No. 20 Utah knocked off No. 7 USC 43-42 in front of the largest crowd in Rice-Eccles Stadium history.
The Utes rallied from a 21-7 deficit and in the end, quarterback Cam Rising scored on fourth-and-1 with a 2-yard touchdown run with 48 seconds remaining. It was Utah’s first lead of the entire night.
Then, coach Kyle Whittingham decided to go for the two-point conversion and the win. Rising scored again and Rice-Eccles erupted.
For USC, it was a bitter loss — their first of the season.
For Utah, that dramatic victory kept the Utes in the Pac-12 race.
In that game, Rising completed 30 of 44 passes for 415 yards. He threw for two touchdowns and ran for three more. Tight end Dalton Kincaid caught a game-high 16 passes for a career-high 234 yards and a TD.
USC quarterback Caleb Williams completed 25 of 42 passes for 381 yards and five touchdowns.
So it seems fitting that the two programs meet again on Friday (6 p.m., MST, Fox) for the Pac-12 championship at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
How will that October classic sequel hold up against the original, with so much on the line?
Certainly, USC and Utah are different teams than they were in mid-October. And a lot has happened since then.
First, for the Ute defense, that game was the turning point for the season.
In the first half, the Trojans rolled up 364 yards of total offense and scored 28 points. In the second half, Utah limited USC to 192 yards and two TDs.
The Ute defense has improved significantly since that first-half performance. It’s a top-20 defense in the nation.
“We never had people not bought in. It was just a matter of the defense maturing, guys gaining experience. That was the onset of the defense pivoting and making a reversal and playing well was the second half of that game,” Whittingham said this week. “We played extremely well in the second half of that USC game. From that point on, we’ve played pretty good defense.
“The way that our guys have grown up this year. Great job by (defensive coordinator Morgan) Scalley and his staff, getting them ready every week,” he continued. “Great job by the players, taking the preparation process dead serious and making sure we don’t have any wasted time on the field or in the meeting room. It’s a very businesslike approach with our defense. They’ve really played some good football as of late.”
“We’ve become tighter as a defense. We’ve watched more film,” said linebacker Karene Reid. “We’ve spent more time off the field together and that’s shown up on the field.”
Utah defensive lineman Gabe Reid remembers Whittingham urging his defense to make plays that night.
“Coach Whitt came over to the D-line particularly after that first drive against USC, and said, ‘Hey, we’ve got to figure it out or it’s going to be a long night.’ It took us a little while to get going but I really think that was a turning point for our defense, where we rallied together and said, it’s on us,” he said. “We have the guys to make the plays. We did that. We’ve continued to do that week-in and week-out. So I’m excited for us to prove the consistent, solid defense that we are this week.”
The Utes sacked Williams four times, three in the second half. However, earlier this month, Utah lost defensive end and sacks leader Van Fillinger, who suffered a season-ending injury.
“We’ve grown up in a lot of areas, a lot of position groups. We didn’t have a ton of experience early on. We weren’t playing very fundamentally sound. We were leaving gaps. We were technique-wise not good,” Whittingham said. “We weren’t tackling well early in the season. We just continued to get better and better as the season wore on. As I’ve mentioned, the real turning point seemed to be the second half of the USC game. Since that point, we’ve been really stingy on defense.”
As for USC, it lost running back Travis Dye to a season-ending injury earlier this month. Dye ran 11 times for 76 yards and a touchdown in the first meeting.
But Austin Jones has filled that void left by Dye. He ran for 154 yards last week in a win over Notre Dame.
“He has picked it up and done a great job. There’s been no drop-off,” Whittingham said. “Different style of player than Dye but the results are the same and the production is the same, if not better. He’s really run the football well for them.”
Wide receiver Jordan Addison sustained an injury in the game against Utah, but he’s back now. On the season, he’s caught 58 passes for 843 yards and eight TDs.
Utah has been impacted by offensive injuries as well. Rising suffered a knee injury against USC and missed the next game against Washington State. He struggled against Oregon but looked more like his usual self last week against Colorado.
Asked Monday if he is physically capable of doing what he did the first time against USC, Rising replied, “Yes, sir.”
And Kincaid, who was sensational against the Trojans, sustained an injury against WSU that led to him missing the Arizona game. He suffered another injury last Saturday.
Meanwhile, in the first meeting between USC and Utah, the Trojans entered that game leading the nation in sacks. But USC recorded zero sacks against the Utes.
“We’ve got the same five (starting O-linemen) and we’ve been able to stay relatively healthy there,” Whittingham said. “We’ve had a little shuffling of the deck here and there but no major overhauls on the O-line. We’ve got the same five right now that have been starting most of the year that will be ready for this game.”
Though running back Tavion Thomas wasn’t much of a factor against USC in October, he has since declared for the NFL Draft. The Utes will be relying heavily on Ja’Quinden Jackson, who had just one carry for zero yards against the Trojans. Jackson said he’s more comfortable playing the position now. And, as a team, “We’re way more physical than we were a month ago,” he said.
USC’s defense has improved, too. For example, the Trojans held Notre Dame to 90 yards on the ground last Saturday. The week before, USC limited UCLA’s Zach Charbonnet to 95 yards.
The Trojan offense has made some subtle tweaks.
“They’ve got a little different personnel twist now, doing variations of their coverages, making it hard for offenses,” Rising said. “They’re doing a good job.”
Whittingham said USC is using a tight end more than they did in the first meeting.
“They’ve gone more to an 11-personnel,” Whittingham said. “That means different personnel on the field for us when they’re in 11 as opposed to when they’re in 10 (personnel).”
How will Friday’s sequel between Utah and USC stack up against the original?
“It looks like they’ve gotten better each week. The technique is better. The plays are run more clean,” Karene Reid said about the Trojan offense. “But I’d like to believe that about ourselves, right? It’s the end of the season. So we’re going to get their best and they’re going to get our best, too.”
Pac-12 Championship Game
No. 14 Utah (9-3, 8-2)
vs. No. 6 USC (11-1, 8-1)
Friday, 6 p.m. MST
Allegiant Stadium
TV: FOX
Radio: ESPN 700