Utes’ Secondary Struggles In Disappointing Loss To USC

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The University of Utah secondary had a tough time against the USC wide receivers in their 30-23 loss.

Utah gave up 381 yards of total offense, but 368 yards through the air.

That all happened with their third string quarterback Matt Fink, who threw three touchdown passes after entering the game on the third play when true freshman QB Kedon Slovis suffered a head injury on a hit by Utah defensive tackle Leki Fotu.

Three major issues doomed the Utes in their 30-23 loss to USC.

-Penalties
-The red zone fumble before the half
-Michael Pittman Jr.

My postgame report from The Coliseum@kslsports @KSL5TV https://t.co/mswkFuB8kZ pic.twitter.com/PWfbeiZkC3

— Jeremiah Jensen (@JJSportsBeat) September 21, 2019

It started with a seven-play, 81-yard drive that took 2:03 off of the clock and a 7-0 lead when Fink found wide receiver Tyler Vaughns for a 29-yard touchdown.

The positive for Utah’s defense was holding USC to just 13 yards on the ground. Unfortunately, they couldn’t keep the Trojans in check with key stops on the final drive as they held USC to negative rushing yards for three and a half quarters.

USC Star WR Trio

Entering the game against the Trojans, Utah knew that they had three of the best wide receivers in the country in Michael Pittman, Tyler Vaughns and Amon Ra St. Brown.

Pittman was simply the best of the three against the Utes with 10 receptions for 232 yards and one touchdown.

St. Brown finished with 5 catches for 68 yards and a score, while Vaughns found the end zone once on four catches and 49 yards.

Penalties Too Much For Utes

The offensive line had a hard time against the defensive front that USC had as they were constantly getting pressure on Utah’s quarterback and flushing him out of the pocket and forced him to run.

Huntley ran the ball 18 times for 60 yards to go with his 210 passing yards.

Utah committed 16 penalties for 120 yards, with most of the miscues coming on holding calls from the offensive line.

USC had a lot of penalties as well, just not as many as Utah. The Trojans had 11 penalties for 117 yards.

Up Next

The Utes dropped to 3-1 overall and 0-1 in Pac-12 play. They will return home to face No. 19 Washington State at Rice-Eccles Stadium on Saturday, September 28 at 8 p.m. The game will be broadcast on FS1.