No. 20 Trojans travel to take on No. 19 Utes
The high-flying USC offense will face a tough test this Saturday night when the team hits the road to face the stingy Utah Utes. The No. 20 Trojans (5-2, 4-1 Pac-12) hammered Colorado 56-28 last Saturday behind a record-setting day from redshirt junior quarterback Cody Kessler. Kessler and his teammates will have their work cut out for them in Salt Lake City, however, against the Pac-12’s second-best scoring defense.
Hold down the fort · Junior defensive end Leonard Williams will be tasked with slowing down Utes running back Devontae Booker, who rushed for 229 yards in Utah’s game against Oregon State last week. – Mariya Dondonyan | Daily Trojan
The No. 19 Utes (5-1, 2-1), owners of an upset win over then-No. 8 UCLA on Oct. 4, allow just 21.7 points per game, and are a one-point loss to Washington State away from being undefeated. The team is coming off of a double-overtime victory over Oregon State last Thursday night, leaving them two extra days to prepare for head coach Steve Sarkisian’s Trojans. For his part, Sarkisian acknowledged that Utah should be a tough opponent.
“They’ve always been very good on defense,” Sarkisian said. “They’ve always been aggressive. They’re doing it their way and its been successful for them thus far.”
The Utes’ impressive defense is anchored by the two-headed monster of defensive end Nate Orchard and outside linebacker Jared Norris. Norris is the Pac-12’s second-leading tackler with 58, good for an average of 9.7 per game. Orchard, a blue-chip NFL prospect, is second in the conference in sacks (10.5) and third in tackles for loss (13). Linebacker Gionni Paul, a transfer from Miami, has also made an impact after missing the first two games of the season. Following a 14-tackle effort in a road win over Michigan — his first game in a Utes’ uniform — Paul was named Athlon’s National Defensive Player of the Week. Sarkisian has no qualms about Utah’s defensive strategy.
“They’re just committed to rushing the passer,” Sarkisian said. “Their defensive ends are going to go and sack the quarterback. That’s their intent, and they’ve got talented guys. We have to have a good gameplan in place to neutralize their scheme and try to limit their confidence.”
If the Utes are a force without the ball, they have been anything but with it. Quarterback Travis Wilson, who overcame career-threatening concussion issues to return to the team this season, is struggling to regain his old form. Backup Kendal Thompson, who replaced Wilson in the team’s win over UCLA, has performed only slightly better. The pair owns a 58 percent completion percentage, the worst in the Pac-12, and averages only 191.8 yards per game through the air, good for second-worst in the conference. Though Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham named Wilson the team’s starter for Saturday’s contest, the Trojans know that they should be ready to face Thompson at any point.
“[Thompson and Wilson] both like to run,” sophomore linebacker Su’a Cravens said. “They do the same type of things with both QBs. We just gotta be ready to play. We’re going to stick to what our gameplan is and execute.”
The Utes’ saving grace on the offensive side of the ball has come in the form of running back Devontae Booker. The Sacramento, California, native is the Pac-12’s third-leading rusher — behind only USC redshirt junior Javorius “Buck” Allen — with 742 yards, good for an average of 123.7 per game. Booker torched Oregon State for 229 yards and three touchdowns last week, including the game-winning score in double overtime. Stopping Booker will be crucial for the Trojans, who have already given up 12 rushing touchdowns this season.
“I think [Booker]’s a great running back,” senior linebacker Anthony Sarao said. “You have to stop that run, a lot of teams like to run the ball when they’re at home. We can’t have just one guy trying to make one tackle.”
Sarkisian noted that the Utes have come into their own as a power running team.
“[Utah] has kind of philosophically changed from year to year,” Sarkisian said. “They’ve got some really quality minds with a great deal of experience on the offensive side of the ball. They found a niche to be a downfield running team this year.”
USC leads the all-time series 9-3, with the Trojans’ last loss to Utah coming in the 2001 Las Vegas Bowl. This year’s matchup will kick off from Rice-Eccles Stadium at 7 p.m. PST on Saturday night. Cravens played down concerns that the Utes’ notoriously loud home crowd could be a factor, especially for younger players.
“I love a big crowd, especially in an away game like this,” Cravens said. “I love when the crowd’s booing us and when it’s loud. I’m going to talk to the freshmen and tell them, ‘Don’t let the crowd get you, just play your game.’”