USC vs. Utah preview, prediction: Week 7 college football picks
A pair of ranked Pac-12 rivals meet up in Salt Lake as Utah welcomes USC in college football's Week 7 action on Saturday.
USC comes in perfect through six games, already outpacing last season's win total, while Utah has dropped two games, at Florida and at UCLA.
This is the Trojans' first 6-0 start since 2006, when that team lost its seventh game, at Oregon State, and now square off against the defending Pac-12 champions who until last week had won seven straight conference games.
Here's what you need to know about Saturday's matchup.
USC vs. Utah preview, prediction
Week 7 college football: USC vs. Utah
How to watch
When: Sat., Oct. 15
Time: 5 p.m. PT, 6 p.m. MT
TV: Fox network
Stream: fuboTV (Start your free trial)
More college football on SI: College football scores | College football rankings | College football schedule
Odds, point spread, betting lines
Odds courtesy SI Sportsbook
Line: Utah -3.5
USC ATS: 4-2
Utah ATS: 4-2
Over/under: 65
Moneyline USC +138 UT -188
FPI pick: Utah 61.6%
Related: USC vs. Utah picks, predictions: Week 7 college football odds, spread, lines
USC vs. Utah: What you need to know
1. At the line. Utah is getting some of its best offensive line play out of this unit in the last several years, the engine behind its ability to run the ball and protect its quarterback. So far, the line is allowing less than one sack per game (0.83 to be precise), the 7th best mark nationally. USC is getting some solid push on its defensive front, especially from Tuli Tuipulotu, coming off a huge game against Wazzu, and he leads the nation with 7 sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss. His pressure allows USC's other front seven pieces to move around more and get creative.
2. Utah wants to run. And it can. As a group, the Utes rank in the top 25 nationally running at over 200 yards per game, are over 5 yards per carry, and have scored 15 times on the ground. And if there's something USC really does struggle with right now, it's stopping the run, ranking just 82nd against the rush, surrendering 10 touchdowns by backs, and allowing over 4.5 ypc. Every team save Arizona State ran for over 4 on the Trojans. Utah ran for almost 200 and averaged 4.5 per try on UCLA in a loss.
3. Elimination game? Back in the preseason, it was expected this game could be a preview of the Pac-12 title game in December. But now after UCLA has emerged as a contender and Oregon recovered very well from its debacle against Georgia, there's a lot more competition for this league than was expected. With more teams making a run at the conference championship game, the loser of this matchup could find itself out of the picture when everything gets sorted out later.
USC vs. Utah: Fast Facts
+ Utah is 1st in Pac-12 allowing just 179.3 passing yards per game
+ USC has won 5 of its first 6 games by 10-plus points
+ Utah leads Pac-12 in total defense (315.8 ypg)
+ USC has not turned the ball over in 5 of 6 games
+ Utah has 10 interceptions on the year, 3rd most nationally
+ Travis Dye has rushed for a TD in 5 straight games and for 100-plus yards in 4 of 6 games
+ Utes are 66-23 against top 25 teams under Kyle Whittingham
+ Tuipulatu is 1st nationally with 1.17 sacks and 2.1 TFLs per game
+ USC is 8th nationally on 3rd down offense (52.2%)
+ Trojans are 5th nationally in red zone offense (62.2%)
USC vs. Utah Prediction
The key to beating USC is pretty simple: keep Caleb Williams off the field and run the ball consistently. As it happens, that's something Utah can do well.
That doesn't mean Williams won't have time to hit his receivers, especially not after watching Utah struggle to put Dorian Thompson-Robinson under pressure in the pocket last week.
But the Utes' back seven pursuit group will play these Trojan targets a little more physically than opponents have been up to now. Maybe half the plays USC has been getting deep won't be there this time.
And the Utes should have the advantage moving the ball on the ground, early in the game to establish tempo, and late to keep the chains moving, especially on third down, grind down the Trojans physically, and protect what should be a closely-held lead all night.
College Football HQ Prediction: Utah 31, USC 28
College football rankings
According to AP top 25 poll
1. Georgia
2. Ohio State
3. Alabama
4. Clemson
5. Michigan
6. Tennessee
7. USC
8. Oklahoma State
9. Ole Miss
10. Penn State
11. UCLA
12. Oregon
13. TCU
14. Wake Forest
15. NC State
16. Mississippi State
17. Kansas State
18. Syracuse
19. Kansas
20. Utah
21. Cincinnati
T-22. Kentucky
T-22. Texas
24. Illinois
25. James Madison