NFL
By: George Lopez
When: Friday, December 2, 2022
5:00 pm PT Fox
Where: Allegiant Stadium
The #4 USC Trojans travel to Las Vegas to take on the #11 Utah Utes for the PAC12 Championship. This will be the 2nd meeting between the two schools as Utah won a thrilling 43-42 game over the Trojans back in October. With a victory, not only do the Trojans claim the PAC12 championship, they will also punch their ticket to the CFP. For Utah, an invitation to the Rose Bowl is on the line. There is plenty at stake for both schools entering this game.
Trojans Offense vs Utah Defense
In their earlier matchup, Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams completed 25-42 passes for 381 yards and 5 touchdowns. On the ground, Williams accounted for 57 yards on 8 carries. Williams has been on a roll lately. In his last 2 games against rivals UCLA and Notre Dame, Williams has thrown for a combined 702 yards and 3 touchdowns while running for a combined 72 yards and 4 touchdowns. For the season, Williams has thrown for 3712 yards with 34 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. What has been most impressive during this season for Williams is his ability to take care of the football and limit the turnovers. With his performances the last 2 games, Williams all but locked up the Heisman Trophy. In the October game, WR Mario Williams and Jordan Addison led the way with a combined 11 receptions for 251 yards and 1 touchdown. Williams did spread the ball around as 9 different receivers had receptions in that game. Addison has been the big play receiver in the Trojans offense. Look for Utah to roll a safety to his side to place a bracket on him and force Williams to look to other receivers. The Utah pass rush will look to contain Williams in the pocket and not let him get outside and extend plays with both his arm and legs. The interior defensive line will look to put pressure up the middle to prevent Williams from stepping up in the pocket.
The Trojans offense suffered a blow when RB Travis Dye was lost for the season with an injury. Austin Jones has excelled the last 2 games playing for Dye as he ran for 120 yards on 21 carries and 2 touchdowns against UCLA and followed that up with 154 yards on 25 carries against Notre Dame. The Trojans offense was able to run for 204 yards on the Notre Dame defense. In that game, Coach Lincoln Riley came in with a run heavy game plan as the Trojans ran the ball 39 times compared to 22 pass attempts. In their game in October, the Trojans ran for 170 on 27 carries against Utah. Look for Coach Riley to establish his running game early. When the Trojans offensive line controls the line of scrimmage, this will force Utah to bring up their safeties for run support. Once they do that, Williams will look to extend the Utah secondary in the passing game.
Trojans Defense vs Utah Offense
In their first game, Utah quarterback Cameron Rising torched the Trojans completing 30-44 passes for 425 yards and 2 touchdowns. TE Dalton Kincaid had a monster game with 16 receptions for 234 yards 1 touchdown. Look for Utah to go to Kincaid in this game and try to take advantage of matchups against the Trojans defense. Look for the Trojans to use a similar game plan as they did to Notre Dame’s TE Michael Mayer, holding him to 8 receptions for 98 yards. Look for Trojans Defensive Coordinator Alex Grinch to bracket Kincaid, keeping a defender over the top and a defender underneath Kincaid’s routes.
Utah will look to get their running game going early in this game. In the 1st matchup, the Utes ran for 138 yards on 32 carries and 4 touchdowns. Rising led the way with 60 yards on 11 carries. The Trojans defense will look to keep Rising in the pocket. The Trojans edge rushers will need to maintain rush discipline and not go past Rising. This would give him an avenue of escape to the outside. The pressure is going to need to come from the interior defensive lineman and when Rising attempts to escape to the outside, the Trojans edge rushers will need to keep outside containment and force Rising back inside. Against Notre Dame’s vaunted rushing attack, the Trojans defense held the Irish to 90 yards on 26 carries. The defense is getting off their blocks, maintaining pursuit discipline and, make sure tackles. What the Trojans defense has also been doing is pursuing the ball until the whistle. On each play, you see at least 7 Trojans defenders around the ball. USC will look to continue this against Utah.
Prediction
Utah won an exciting game against USC back in October in Utah. This game will be played at a neutral site. Look for USC to set the tone early. This will be a close, tough-fought game early on, but look for USC to pull away in the 2nd half and claim the PAC12 championship.
USC 38
Utah. 20
