USC gives Utah Plenty of Chances, Holds on for First Pac-12 Win

The Trojans shot out of the gate Saturday night early, before a wildly inconsistent final 45 minutes of the Pac-12 Conference’s first ever game left USC needing a last second field goal block and touchdown return to finish off the Utah Utes, 23-14.

There couldn’t have been a more exciting Pac-12 opener, as Utah took USC to final whistle.

For larges stretches of the game, the Trojan offense looked as potent as it was at the end of the Mark Sanchez era, with an efficient balanced attack. Up 10-0 after the first quarter, SC looked as if they would pull away from the Utes before back-to-back redzone turnovers gave Utah plenty of momentum in the second quarter.

Matt Barkley threw his first interception of the season with 10:12 left in the first half, and running back D.J. Morgan followed it with a fumble at Utah’s 12-yard-line on the very next drive. The Utes turned Morgan’s fumble into points, when Jordan Wynn found DeVonte Christopher over the middle for Utah’s first score, making it a 10-7 game at the half.

The third quarter was much of the same sparatic Trojan offense, with Barkley leading the Trojans down the field on their first drive, scoring on a 9-yard pass to tight-end Xavier Grimble, who had three catches for 57 yards on the drive. The addition of Grimble to the passing game, and Marc Tyler to the running game was huge for SC, as it gave them the balance they desperately needed after last week’s pass-happy attack against Minnesota.

In a wild change of possession during the third quarter, the Utes had 3rd and 6 at the USC 48, before a timeout sandwiched between two false starts made it 3rd and 16. Jordan Wynn was then sacked by Nick Perry forcing a 4th and forever try, only to have the sack nullified by a Nickell Robey holding penalty. What happened next? Well, the Trojans forced an incomplete pass, and linebacker Dion Bailey stopped a fake punt attempt, before Grimble fumbled on the first play after the turnover. A 51-yard run and subsequent 1-yard touchdown run by John White made it 17-14 Utes. That short span summed up the game entirely for the Trojans, considering they had countless opportunities to put the game away and win big, yet turnovers and ill-timed penalties gave the Utes lifelines, making the Trojans pay.

The rest of the game followed, as the Trojans moved the ball in spurts on the legs of Marc Tyler, only to squander their chances. Tyler, in his first game back from his TMZ suspension, likely had the biggest game of his career, looking more mature than ever, on and off the field. In what seems to be the best shape of his life, Tyler had 113 hard-earned yards on 24 carries, including a 6-yard score in the first quarter. His addition to the running game could not be more needed, after the Matt Barkley-Robert Woods connection hooked up an astounding 17 times last week. Barkley was a very respectable 20 for 32, throwing for 264 yards and a touchdown, while Woods caught eight passes for 102 yards, proving that USC’s offense was comprised of more than just two players.

Despite the success the Trojans had on offense, their troubles with poorly timed turnovers and penalties gave Utah life, and one last gasp at the end. The Utes got the ball with 1:01 left at their own 33-yard-line and moved it to the USC 49 before the Trojans forced a 4th and 10. Wynn connected to Christopher who was right at the sticks, yet got an unfavorable spot, as it was deemed short of a first down after a measurement.

The officials reviewed the play shortly before Matt Barkley could take a victory kneel, reviewing the spot of the ball and eventually giving the Utes new life, with a 1st and 10 and the 39 of USC. Following a blatant pass interference call on corner Tony Burnett, Utah coach Kyle Wittingham sent out Coleman Petersen to attempt a game-winning field goal, rather than spiking the ball and stopping the clock. Petersen’s try was blocked by Matt Kalil and picked up by Torin Harris, who scampered all the way to endzone, as the rest of the SC sideline met him at the Peristyle end of the Coliseum on the game’s final play.

But the game wasn’t over there, as an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty was ruled on the Trojans, which seemingly wiped the touchdown off the board, ending the game at 17-14 due to the new rule that takes points off of the board after celebration penalties.

Two hours after the final whistle however, the Pac-12 officials awarded the Trojans the points, giving them a 23-14 win, based on the notion that the celebration penalty was a dead ball foul on the sideline, and not any of the 11 Trojans on the field. Nonetheless, the Trojans covered the spread in one of the most bizarre postgame scripts ever.

If the USC-Utah game was preview of what’s to come for the rest of the Pac-12 season, we’re all in for a whale of a year.

For up-to-the-minute buzz, follow us on Twitter and join our Facebook Fan Page.