USC Defense Forces Five Turnovers And Dominates Utah
The biggest takeaway from USC’s third game of the season was the defense’s ability to do just that, take the ball away. The Trojans defense forced five turnovers and held the Utah offense scoreless in the second half on their way to a 33-17 victory over the Utes in Salt Lake City.
The USC defense only allowed 10 points, and dominated the young Utah quarterbacks all night long. “I thought they played with a swagger tonight and played with tremendous emotion,” coach Clay Helton said about his defense's performance.
The defensive unit got off to a quick start right away, forcing a three-and-out from Utah on its opening possession. Then the ball-hawking party began. Defensive end Drake Jackson got the party started after intercepting sophomore quarterback Cam Rising in the first quarter, ending a promising drive for the Utes.
On the first play of Utah’s next possession, star defensive tackle Marlon Tuipulotu turned a sack into a forced fumble, which was recovered by Connor Murphy at the Utes four yard-line. The hit knocked Rising out of the game and USC’s Vavae Malepeai scored two plays later to put the Trojans up 10-3, and USC didn’t trail the rest of the night. “There was one point down in the first half, I said go get the ball back and bring it to me. And literally two plays later they go and get the turnover and they immediately run it over to me,” Helton said about the sequence of plays.
The USC defense feasted on new quarterback Jake Bentley too. Bentley was picked off twice in the second half. Talanoa Hufanga snagged an interception on the Utes’ first drive in the third quarter and Chris Steele capped off the five-turnover night late in the fourth quarter to nullify any hope of Utah coming back.
Todd Orlando’s defense has forced nine turnovers through three games, which leads the PAC-12. The Trojans were flying around the field on Saturday night, making solid tackles, while the secondary and linebackers played suffocating defense against the pass and run. Throughout the night, the D continued to give the offense great field position which helped the Trojans end Utah’s 11-game win streak during home-openers with a 16-point win. “[Orlando] has no fear in his calls and the kids believe in him, in the system and tonight it was evident. The confidence was just radiating off of them.” said Helton.
The USC defense only allowed 327 yards of total offense, and they were efficient in getting off the field, as Utah went 3-for-11 on third down. The defensive line continued its strong play, compiling three sacks and recovering another fumble against the run when Utes running back Ty Jordan coughed the ball up and Isaiah Pola-Mao was able to fall on the pigskin in the first half. Coach Helton enjoyed the clinic that his defense displayed, “It was so much fun to watch them play tonight and I thought they played for each other.”
The USC defense will look to continue its strong play when they return to the coliseum on Saturday to face a surprising Colorado Buffaloes offense.
[Read: 10 Things To Know: USC Trojans vs. Colorado Buffaloes]
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