Utah gets first Pac-12 win against USC
Utah experienced several firsts on Saturday.
Its first win against USC as a member of the Pac-12.
Its first bowl eligibility since 2011.
And its first taste of sitting atop the Pac-12 South standings.
Well, that last one lasted only about an hour or so as Arizona State’s victory moved it to the top of the division, but it was good for a little bit.
Utah’s 24-21 come-from-behind victory against USC was perhaps the Utes’ signature win during their Pac-12 tenure. Quarterback Travis Wilson sealed the victory with a 1-yard pass to Kaelin Clay with 8 seconds remaining.
The Utes got the ball back with 2 minutes to go when USC, up 21-17, decided to go for it on fourth down instead of kicking the field goal to extend the lead to seven. Coach Steve Sarkisian said he was leery of the wind on what would have been a 44-yard try. Receiver Nelson Agholor caught the swing pass and appeared to get the first down, but stepped out of bounds before reaching the line to gain.
The play gave Utah the ball on its own 27-yard line and the Utes went to work. After what appeared to be a drive that was probably going nowhere, the Utes received a pass interference call that kept the drive alive and gave the offense life.
With time running short, Wilson took off scrambling and got to the 1-yard line. Two plays later, he threw the game-winning pass.
The win pushed the Utes to 6-1 overall and 3-1 in conference play and had them tied atop the Pac-12 South standings with Arizona until Arizona State defeated Washington 24-10 to own the top spot.
Unfortunately, Utah’s good feelings might be short-lived. The schedule gets only tougher from here on out with games against Arizona State and Oregon in the next couple weeks before hitting Stanford, Arizona and Colorado to round out the schedule.
For more Utah news, visit Utezone.com.
For more USC news, visit TrojanSports.com.
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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter! Follow @YahooDrSaturday
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