USC falls to Utah in Pac-12 football championship despite torrid start
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LAS VEGAS – USC's championship hopes came to an end on Friday as Utah came back from a 17-3 deficit to win 47-24 for a Pac-12 title.
QB Caleb Williams opened the game in highlight fashion, recording both a 58-yard pass to Tahj Washington and a 50-yard run in the first quarter to set up USC touchdowns.
Utah came storming back in the second quarter, and tied the game at 17-17 as QB Cam Rising found RB Jaylen Dixon for a touchdown two seconds before halftime.
Williams received treatment for a cut on his hand after USC's second touchdown, a 2-yard pass to RB Raleek Brown, put the Trojans up 14-3 with 3:12 left in the first quarter. USC's offense came grinding to a halt, and the Trojans struggled to get their defense off the field for the rest of the game. Williams apparently suffered or aggravated a lower-body injury as well, and struggled to move outside the pocket more and more down the stretch of the game.
USC only recorded 1 total yard of offense in the third quarter, and Utah finished the game on a 44-7 run.
After failing to score a touchdown since the first quarter, the Trojans had life when Williams connected with Mario Williams for a 12-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 27-24 with 10:52 left in the first quarter. But that was as close as they got.
The daggers included a 60-yard touchdown pass from Rising to Thomas Yassmin that put Utah up 34-24 with 10:08 left in the game, an interception by R.J. Hubert after that, and an ensuing 53-yard touchdown run from Ja'Quinden Jackson.
Stay tuned throughout the evening as All Trojans releases complete postgame coverage.
