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College Football: Utah Utes 2016 Mid-Season Review

By James Buckley

Sep 10, 2016; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Utes celebrated their fortieth straight sellout at Rice-Eccles Stadium Brigham Young Cougars. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 10, 2016; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Utes celebrated their fortieth straight sellout at Rice-Eccles Stadium Brigham Young Cougars. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports /
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Game 4: USC Trojans @  #24 Utah Utes

Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

The perennial powerhouse from Southern California came to town looking to right the ship on their season. At 1-2, the Trojans turned to Sam Darnold at QB hoping that he could jumpstart the season.

Quick Recap:

The Utes started strong, with Troy Williams leading a 12-play opening drive, resulting in a 10 yard touchdown run. On the ensuing kickoff however, Adoree’ Jackson returned it 100 yards to the house for a touchdown.

The Trojans then took advantage of a sputtered Utah defense, and scored on a touchdown run from Justin Davis. After USC tacked on a field goal, the Utes found themselves in a 17-10 hole going into the break.

In the 3rd quarter, Darnold added another touchdown run to push the USC lead to 24-10, dousing many Utah fans hopes of winning the conference opener.

At this point, the resilient Utes decided to step up. Troy Williams led a 85-yard drive, going 4-5 passing for 63 yards. This drive resulted in a fumble recovery by lineman Isaac Asiata in the endzone for a touchdown.

After a USC field goal to open the 4th quarter, the Utes went on another long drive. This drive resulted in a touchdown catch by WR Raelon Singleton to bring the Utes within three at 27-24.

With 5:37 in the 4th, following a USC punt, the Utes were ready to tie or win the game starting from their own 7-yard line.

The following drive was one of the best of the season for this Utah team. Led by Troy Williams, the Utes marched down the field while winding down the clock, ending with a 18 yard TD pass from Troy Williams to Tim Patrick with 16 seconds left.

Result: Utah wins 31-27 (4-0, 1-0 Conf)

What it meant:

At the moment, this game is my favorite Ute game of the season, Seeing the resiliency that the team showed down two touchdowns gave me hope for the rest of the season (and of course, who doesn’t love game-winning 93-yard drives?)

This is the game where I felt like Troy Williams finally stepped up and showed that he was the leader of the offense. The defense got the necessary stops, and Williams made sure to put the game away.

After beating a big name opponent like USC, the Utes moved farther up the rankings, to #18 in the AP Poll.

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