A potential college football playoff berth is on the line as the No. 4 USC Trojans, 11-1, 8-1 Pac-12, try to avenge their only loss on the year when they face the No. 11 Utah Utes, 9-3, 7-2 Friday night on FOX at 8 PM EST in Las Vegas. A win for the Trojans, and they’re in the College Football Playoff for the first time and the first time for a Pac-12 team since 2017 when Washington made it.
Utah wants to defend its title from last year while playing the spoiler at the same time. They won on Oct. 15 in Salt Lake City 43-42. This is Utah’s fourth championship game appearance in the past five seasons. The three losses this year came against Oregon, UCLA, and Florida. If Utah wins, it opens the door for either Ohio State or Alabama to make it into the fourth spot, depending on what happens with the other games.
Heisman Trophy hopeful QB Caleb Williams will do his best to see to it that doesn’t happen. On the year, he’s thrown for 34 touchdowns and only 3 interceptions. He has 3,712 passing yards. He’s also rushed for 351 yards and 10 scores. The 10 leads the team. In the loss against Utah, he went 25/42 for 381 yards and 5 touchdowns.
This game could very well be another shootout. USC averages 42.5 points a game, and Utah at 39.5. USC has 506.6 yards a game, while Utah comes in at 467.7. In the previous game, both teams had over 500 yards. 562-556 in Utah’s favor.
Utah QB will look to build on a solid season. He has 22 touchdowns and 2,629 passing yards. RB Tavion Thomas leads the team on the ground with 142 carries for 687 yards and 7 touchdowns.
Written by Garin Turner
