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Familiar Feeling
"We've been part of stuff this season that I've yet to experience in coaching. Just so many plays, one play here and one play there," said head coach Steve Sarkisian. "We're living and dying by these moments." The coach summed up the season well after another wild Pac-12 game. Tonight, the Trojans died by a finishing sequence that saw them two yards from a game-sealing first down and then one yard from a game-winning goal line stand. The head coach was the first to take responsibility for the Trojans failure to close out the win.Fits and Starts
The offense came out sharp in the first quarter, but struggled to find any kind of rhythm in the middle portion of the game, which featured mostly three-and-outs and turnovers. In the fourth quarter though, Cody Kessler (24/32 for 264 yards and 2 TD/1 INT) led a pair of impressive drives giving USC the lead and then a 3rd and 2 needing only a first down to seal victory. On third down, Sarkisian elected to use Buck Allen (27 carries for 101 yards) as a decoy freeing FB Jahleel Pinner for a pass in the flat. "Through film, Utah was a team that really liked to sell out in those short yardage situations, and they were going to go for it to try to get the stop," Sarkisian explained. "We felt like we had a good play call on the play pass with the big package. The ball slipped out of Cody's hands. That happens." On fourth down, the head coach chose not to kick a long field goal into a whipping wind and instead called a pitch out to Nelson Agholor (10 catches for 110 yards) who stepped out of bounds before picking up the necessary yardage. After conservative calls cost the Trojans earlier this season, Sarkisian vowed to remain aggressive offensively in that situation going forward, so he does not regret the boldness of his decisions. "Thinking back on the calls, I like the calls that we made. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out how we wanted it to," he said.
One Too Many
As for the defense, the Trojans were solid most of the night limiting Utah RB Devontae Booker to 3.9 yards per carry, forcing four fumbles and holding the Utes to 17 points. Just like the wins at Stanford and Arizona, USC's best work defensively came in the Red Zone. The Trojans twice forced and recovered fumbles at the goal line, but Utah's final foray to the one-yard line proved to be the difference as Travis Wilson hit Kaelin Clay for the game-winning touchdown. While USC contained the quarterback runs all night, the key play on the final drive was an 18-yard scramble by Wilson.
Adore Adoree'
Adoree' Jackson would have been the star of the night if the Trojans had come away victorious. The do-it-all freshman seemingly gets better every week. Along with airtight defense at cornerback, including forcing one of the goal line fumbles, he broke off a 100-yard kickoff return despite catching the ball deep in the end zone. "JuJu [Smith] has the call. He was in charge. He told me to come out, so I trusted him," Jackson described the play. "Everybody made their blocks. It was really a great play by the other 10 people."
Deja Vu
Just like 2012, the Trojans fell behind on the second play of the game thanks to a bizarre defensive touchdown for the Utes. WR Darreus Rogers dropped a lateral and the ball lay idly on the turf as both teams assumed the play would be whistled dead. Finally, Davion Orphey was instructed by his sideline to scoop and score leaving the Trojans in a shocking hole. "I am at a loss for words," Rogers tried to explain the play. "I thought it was passed the line of scrimmage and an incomplete pass. I just had to have a short memory and come back and make some plays." Rogers did exactly that making the go ahead touchdown catch in the fourth quarter.
Valuable Scars
The Trojans hopes in the Pac-12 South are on life support after this loss, but they have no intentions of giving up on the season. "We always have something to fight for. We're USC. We Fight On," said Rogers. "We're still coming hard each and every day." In the bigger picture, Sarkisian expects the team to grow from these experiences. "We're learning a lot of lessons as a team about what it takes to be a champion," he said. "To be a champion, which I think we are capable of being, our execution at the critical moments must improve."
Here are the game highlights courtesy of the Pac-12:
