No. 11 Utah (9-3, 7-2) vs. No. 4 USC (11-1, 8-1)
Kickoff: 6 p.m. MST
Venue: Allegiant Stadium
TV: Fox
Livestream: https://fox.com
Radio: KALL 700
Series: USC leads 13-8
Weather: Domed Stadium
The trends
For Utah: The Utes have won two in a row against USC, including a 43-42 victory over the Trojans at Rice-Eccles Stadium in October.
For USC: The Trojans have beaten two ranked teams the past two weeks — UCLA and Notre Dame.
What to watch for
Utah and USC staged a memorable, highly entertaining game on Oct. 15 at Rice-Eccles Stadium, with the Utes scoring in the final minute to earn a 43-42 victory.
What will happen in the rematch in Las Vegas with so much at stake?
For Utah, it’s a chance to repeat as Pac-12 champions and return to the Rose Bowl.
For USC, it’s an opportunity to win its first Pac-12 championship since 2017 and earn a spot in the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history. And it’s another opportunity for quarterback Caleb Williams to strengthen his candidacy for the Heisman Trophy.
Utah is the only team in the Pac-12 that ranks in the top 20 nationally in both scoring offense and scoring defense, at No. 10 and No. 19, respectively.
Nationally, USC ranks No. 3 in scoring offense (42.5 ppg), No. 5 in total offense (506.6 ypg), No. 6 in passing offense (322.6 ypg) and No. 1 in turnover margin (+23).
Key player
Caleb Williams, USC quarterback: The sophomore Heisman Trophy front-runner has completed 268 of 407 passes for 3,712 yards with 34 touchdowns and three interceptions. He’s also rushed 97 times for 351 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Quotable
“Well, pretty much everyone has them winning already and going to the playoffs and Caleb winning the Heisman. That’s already been talked about. We love that role. We love the chip on our shoulder, the nobody giving us a chance. We seem to thrive in that capacity and in that world. We’ll see.” — Utah coach Kyle Whittingham
“This is not a revenge game. This is not what this is. We played a really good football game, as did Utah up in Salt Lake and it was an elite college football game. It came down to one play here or there. They got us that time but this is not about that game. This is a new game, a new challenge, a new setting. The teams have evolved. Both teams have changed certainly throughout the year. This is about that and the opportunities at hand.” — USC coach Lincoln Riley
Utah results
Sept. 3 — Florida 29, Utah 26
Sept. 10 — Utah 73, Southern Utah 7
Sept. 17 — Utah 35, San Diego State 7
Sept. 24 — Utah 34, Arizona State 13
Oct. 1 — Utah 42, Oregon State 16
Oct. 8 — UCLA 42, Utah 32
Oct. 15 — Utah 43, USC 42
Oct. 27 — Utah 21, Washington State 17
Nov. 5 — Utah 45, Arizona 20
Nov. 12 — Utah 42, Stanford 7
Nov. 19 — Oregon 20, Utah 17
Nov. 26 — Utah 63, Colorado 21