Utah Scores 41-28 Win Over USC

Saturday, October 20

Salt Lake City, UT

6:00 PM

University of Utah

USC

Photo by: Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports

10/20/2018 9:50 PM | Football

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SALT LAKE CITY – For the third straight week, the Utah football team has posted over 40 points on the way to its third Pac-12 win, defeating USC 41-28 in Rice-Eccles Stadium. The Utes are 5-2 overall and 3-2 in the Pac-12.

After a slow start, the Utes fired on all cylinders, producing 541 yards of total offense while holding USC to just 205. USC had just 73 yards on the ground, the fifth time this season the Utes have held their opponent to under 100 yards rushing.

Tyler Huntley 22-of-29 passing for 341 yards and four touchdowns, tying his career high in both yards and passing scores. He added 33 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown to his stat line.

Zack Moss racked up 136 rushing yards on 25 carries with Britain Covey leading the Utes in receiving yards, grabbing four catches for 79 yards and a touchdown. Brant Kuithe also had a strong receiving game for the Utes against the Trojans, finishing with a career-high 68 yards on four receptions.

The Utes were stingy on defense, with Chase Hansen leading the team with 11 tackles, including 3.0 tackles for loss and an interception. Special teams also had a good performance with Matt Gay 2-for-2 on field goals and Mitch Wishnowsky averaging 47.7 yards per punt.

USC's first touchdown of the game slipped through the Utes hands with a near interception in the end zone after the Utah defensive line put heat on the quarterback, resulting in a 34-yard score for the Trojans. USC's 50-yard scoring drive gave them a 7-0 lead with 7:31 remaining in the first quarter.

The struggles continued for the Utes as they turned the ball over on a fumble, resulting in a 48-yard fumble return by the Trojans for a touchdown. The defensive takeaway for USC gave them a 14-0 lead with 5:58 left in the first.

The offense got rolling on its first scoring drive after Covey put the Utes in good territory on a career-long 38-yard kickoff return. It turned into the Covey show with the sophomore linking up with Huntley on a 46-yard receiving touchdown, cutting the USC lead to 14-7 with 5:05 on the clock in the first.

The Utes continued to put points on the board after Hansen came up with a huge interception to give the Utah significant field advantage. Utah couldn't get it in the end zone, but Gay was able to convert on a 33-yard field goal to make it a four-point game to start the second quarter.

Utah took the lead with 7:27 to go in the second quarter after a strong 67-yard drive down field, ending with a three-yard rushing touchdown by Huntley. Huntley's fourth rushing touchdown of the season put the Utes up 17-14 after a 27-yard catch by Kuithe put the Utes on the USC five-yard-line.

Despite the slow start on both sides of the ball, the Utes 20 unanswered points ending with Gay's 30-yard field goal gave Utah a 20-14 lead heading into halftime. The Utah defense held USC to just 99 total yards on offensive in the first half, including only 11 yards on the ground.

The Utah offense continued to control the game, opening the third quarter with its third touchdown of the game. The 75-yard scoring drive ended with a 27-yard passing touchdown to Solomon Enis, giving the freshman his first collegiate touchdown and the Utes a 27-14 advantage with 12:36 on the clock.

Huntley propelled the Utes to their next scoring drive as he found Demari Simpkins in double coverage in the end zone, threading the defenders for an 11-yard passing touchdown. The tremendous catch ended a balanced 85-yard drive that took 6:30 off the clock to put the Utes up 34-14 with 3:28 left to play in the third.

Heading into the final two minutes of the third quarter, the Utes fumbled the ball on a punt return following a three-and-out, giving USC the ball back on the Utah 14-yard-line. With the Trojans approaching the end zone, Jaylon Johnson came up with Utah's second takeaway of the game with an interception on the one-yard-line to keep the score at 34-14 heading into the fourth.

The Trojans were able to jump back in the scoring column to start the fourth quarter, scoring on a three-yard pass. The scoring drive was set up by a blocked Utah punt that USC was able to recover on the Utah nine-yard-line, cutting the lead to 34-21 with 11:34 left in the game.

Jake Jackson extended Utah's lead to 41-21 with 8:55 on the clock, catching an 11-yard pass for his first career touchdown. It ended a five-play, 75-yard drive to take 2:39 off the clock in the fourth quarter.

USC scored with 3:05 remaining in the game, punching in a 12-yard rushing touchdown to make it 41-28. The 75-yard drive burned 5:50 off the game clock with Utah recovering an onside kick at the USC 48-yard-line to start their final offensive drive of the game.

After Moss drove the Utes to the USC 19-yard-line, Utah was able to run out the clock on downs, claiming its third straight win with 40-plus points.

Utah returns to action on Oct. 26 when they travel to UCLA for a Friday night matchup. The game is set for an 8:30 p.m. MT kick on ESPN.