USC Unimpressed by Utah: ‘Just A Regular Team’

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The University of Utah football team took care of business at home against USC Saturday, winning 41-28. Despite the win, USC left Salt Lake seemingly unimpressed by the Utes.

Utah fell behind early by 14 points after a quick USC score, followed by a 48-yard touchdown fumble recovery by former Bingham linebacker Jay Tufele midway through the first quarter.

The Utes then proceeded to score 34 unanswered points. The Trojans didn’t score again until 11:34 left in the fourth quarter.

Although the win left Utah in first place in the Pac-12 South and earned them a No. 23 ranking, several USC players thought the Utes were overrated, despite the game outcome.

“They were just a regular team,” said linebacker Jordan Iosefa. “We just messed up.”

“We’re better (than they are),” said running back Stephen Carr.

This all prompted a new hashtag on Twitter, called #justaregularteam, which Utah football and their fans seemed to embrace.

Last night:
Offense: 541 total yards
Defense: allowed only 205#JustARegularTeam 💁‍♂️🤫 pic.twitter.com/cC8cF6tniN

— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) October 21, 2018

KSL Unrivaled host Scott Mitchell wondered if there might be a budding rivalry between the Trojans and the Utes.

“In order to win the Pac-12 South you have to beat USC,” Mitchell said. “Clay Helton has been the head coach now for at least four years. He’s 15-2 against Pac-12 South teams, and you know who is two losses are? Utah.”

Mitchell also said the victory over USC really meant nothing unless Utah wins the division. However, he said it was always the same story with the USC, citing an apparent arrogance from the Trojans.

“They believe they’re the best,” Mitchell said. “Utah’s the better team. They are the best team in the Pac-12, but when you’re a program like USC, it doesn’t matter – you always think you’re the best program.”

Mitchell, a former Ute and NFL quarterback, is the color-commentator for the radio broadcast of the Utes games. He said the Trojans had to resort to desperate defensive schemes to stop Utah’s offense. He also gave out high praise for the Utes defense.

“That defense put a whoopin’ on that (USC) quarterback,” Mitchell said. “He didn’t know what day of the week it was. He didn’t know where to throw (or) when to throw.”

Host Alex Kirry agreed with Mitchell that the Trojans had no answer for Utah, but saod fans need to give USC a taste of its own medicine.

“It’s just another game to us,” Mitchell said.

“Yes, exactly,” Kirry said. “You guys (Utes fans) are already good at this. Channel whatever the attitude is towards BYU and take that narrative. ‘Oh, I didn’t even know you guys were on the schedule this year, that should be fun.'”

Kirry said Utah fans need to go straight to the “dismissing them” factor. He said the “just a regular team” was a brilliant marketing campaign for Utah.

“It fits Kyle Whittingham,” Kirry said. “He loves that idea too, of ‘no one respects us.’”

The University of Utah hits the road to take on UCLA in another Pac-12 South match-up Friday night. Kick-off was set for 8:30 p.m., and will be televised on ESPN.