It was right there for the taking.
All USC had to do was avenge its only loss and defeat Utah in the Pac-12 title game to represent the conference in the College Football Playoff.
The Trojans were well on their way after the first quarter as they held an early 14-3 lead. But then the wheels came off. Quarterback Caleb Williams hurt his hamstring, the Trojan defense forgot how to tackle, and the Utes came away with a 47-24 victory.
Losing to Utah twice in a season is undoubtedly a pain every Duck fan can relate to. But Oregon didn’t have a playoff spot on the line as the Trojans did.
At 11-2, USC will have to settle for the Cotton Bowl where it faces No. 16 Tulane. While the situation is enviable for most, this wasn’t what the Men of Troy had in mind when they hired Lincoln Riley away from Oklahoma and got the Sooners quarterback to come to Los Angeles with him.
In order to get the mood of the Trojans program, we went to our buddy Matt Zemek, editor of TrojansWire. This is what he had to say about how USC is moving on from the disappointment in Las Vegas.
It’s certainly a feeling of being deflated. Making the playoff would have been an extraordinary moment for the program in its return to national relevance,” Zemek said. “Not getting revenge on Utah also stings. Not being able to increase the lead from 17-3 to 20-3 or 24-3 was a real disappointment during the game, and Utah made USC pay for that. Yet, ultimately, there’s a sense of helplessness among the fan base because Caleb Williams got hurt and Andrew Vorhees was out. There’s an awareness that USC didn’t have full strength or health for this big game, which creates a “what can you do?” feeling.
Oregon also had to play with a quarterback that wasn’t 100 percent, but unlike USC, the Ducks could prepare accordingly. The Trojans had to adjust on the fly and it wasn’t in the cards and Utah was able to take advantage.
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