We’re discussing the USC-Utah game with Utes expert Matt Nigbur, a co-host of the No Truck Stops Pac-12 podcast.
We asked Matt, “How big a factor was Brant Kuithe’s absence against UCLA?”
Nigbur responded:
“I wanted to say that Brant Kuithe being out should open up the Utah offense because Cam Rising zeroed in on him as a target too much. Unfortunately, there is a reality where Kuithe was the only player that was creating explosive plays receiving the ball, and that is sorely missed in this offense. Utah had a 5% explosive play rate last week, good for a 15th percentile mark. Sometimes you need to score points more than anything else, and Utah couldn’t get enough last week.”
This does invite the question: Can Utah get USC into a shootout? The Utes are generally thought of as a defense-first team under Kyle Whittingham, but this might be a game where Utah (and frankly both teams) need to score 40 to win. USC hasn’t played a pure shootout yet this season. Is this the game when the Trojans finally get roped into a track meet? We’ll soon find out.
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