Breaking Down USC and Utah's Strengths and Weaknesses
Utah is arguably one of the tougher opponents that USC will face this year. Although USC has two games under their belt, the Utes have a strong record with finding success at home against the Trojans. The last three times the Trojans traveled to Salt Lake City they have left without a victory. Despite USC going into week three with un scouted looks yet again, you can expect to see a competitive game as Utah should provide a challenge on both sides of the ball for USC come Saturday. Both teams have high and low points to their offense and defense, here is a breakdown of USC and Utah's strength and weaknesses.
USC's Strength -
One of USC's strengths is their skill set players. WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR Drake London and WR Tyler Vaughns have all showed up and made big plays when it counts. Don't forget WR Bru McCoy (who is young) but is showing great progression and athleticism thus far. Amon-Ra St. Brown currently ranks No.3 overall in the Pac-12 for receiving yards (106.5). Last week against Arizona, Brown also led USC in receiving stats, (7 receptions and 113 yards). When Slovis' is able to see the field and find his open targets, the offensive chemistry can be gold.
USC's Weakness -
For a third week in a row USC is going into their game with un scouted looks. To make matters worse for the Trojans' prep game, the Utes have yet to publicly announce who will be their starting QB between Cam Rising, Jake Bentley and Drew Lisk. When we caught up with SI AllUtes publisher Ryan Kostecka, he believed that sophomore Cam Rising would ultimately win the job. However, Todd Orlando and his defense won't have a clear picture of how Utah's offense fits together until they step on the field come Saturday.
This creates a lot of uncertainly for USC. Something that we've seen the Trojans' not necessary thrive on over the past couple of weeks. It's been evident that USC has struggled to find their rhythm and make key adjustments in the first half, which have prevented them from really elevating the score early on. Defensively, Utah has a young secondary which could be good or bad for USC. This could be an opportunity for USC's veteran receivers and backs to exploit the Utes inexperienced players. On the other hand, without seeing one snap on film of Utah's new faces, a lot of uncertainly remains for the Trojans.
Another area that USC hopes to improve on this week is their 3rd and 4th down conversions and Red Zone scoring chances. Last week against Arizona, USC was 5-13 (3rd) 1-2 (4th) and 6-8 (Red Zone).
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Utah's Strength -
Simply put, Utah's strength is their offense per Ryan Kostecka. Utah has four returning O-LINE starters on offense and they combine for 72 starts as a unit. Part of this group are All-Pac-12 players Nick Ford, Simi Moala, and Orlando Umana who will look to return as impact players this year. Utah's has dangerous tight end Brant Kuithe returning this season who is "a matchup nightmare for opponents as he's too big for safeties and cornerbacks, yet too athletic for linebackers." Wide receivers, Bryan Thompson and Britain Covey are also returners for the Utes and should create challenges for USC defensively.
Utah's Weakness -
Weakness is the defense per Ryan Kostecka. "Last years defensive unit was one of the best in the nation. Well, when you loose nine guys who are literally all now in the NFL, that's kind of tough."
Devin Loyd returns as a junior linebacker as the "heart and soul" of Utah's defense. Mika Tafua (junior) returns as the Utes’ only returning starter on their defensive line, after Utah lost several players to the NFL. However, their secondary remains young and inexperienced. Utah has No.4 cornerback in the nation (out of high school) Clark Phillips Jr. III who will likely start for the Utes. However, if USC's talented and experienced receivers are able to out play and exploit Utah's young secondary that could cause some areas of concern for Kyle Whittingham's team.
This Saturday’s 7:30 p.m PST/8:30 p.m MT kickoff is the latest game the Trojans have played since hosting Wisconsin at the Coliseum back in 1955 at 8:30 p.m. The game will air on ESPN.
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