Pac-12 championship game – Page 4

USC vs Utah, Pac-12 Championship Game: Stream, injury reports, and broadcast info for Dec. 2, 2022

Get full TV, radio and streaming information for #USC vs #Utah in the #Pac12Championship Game.

Here we go. This one’s for all the marbles.

The USC Trojans try to win their first Pac-12 championship since 2017 and their second conference title since 2008 when they face the Utah Utes in the Pac-12 Championship Game in Las Vegas.

This is the second Pac-12 title game in Las Vegas. The first one was last year, when Utah dominated Oregon from start to finish and won its first Pac-12 title. The Utes are trying to go back to back. The Trojans are trying to make the College Football Playoff, which they would achieve if they do prevail.

Utah quarterback Cam Rising completed 16 passes to tight end Dalton Kincaid for 234 yards the last time these teams met. USC defensive coordinator Alex Grinch has to have a plan to contain Kincaid. Rising has to play at the level he attained against USC on Oct. 15 in order for the banged-up Utes to win the rematch.

Caleb Williams is the front-runner for the Heisman Trophy, but he can’t get caught up in individual awards. His only task on Friday is to win a football game.

Here’s information for the broadcast and where you can find USC-Utah on TV, radio, and live streaming outlets:

The biggest thing for USC to be concerned about vs Utah (other than Dalton Kincaid)

#USC just played two very tough games. #Utah just played Colorado and might be mentally fresher. The Trojans face a test of toughness, stamina, and durability.

The USC Trojans have to pay attention to Dalton Kincaid in the Pac-12 Championship Game. Kincaid torched them for 16 catches and 234 yards on October 15 in the first meeting between these teams this season.

Yet, if there’s a bigger overall concern for USC — something which transcends a particular Utah player or a specific set of tactics — it is the larger question of how much energy USC brings to this game.

That might seem weird, even dumb: Of course USC will play with energy. It’s a conference championship game for the College Football Playoff. Of course the Trojans will be excited. They won’t run out of energy.

Maybe … but we have to look at how each team is entering this game.

USC just played UCLA and Notre Dame, two emotionally draining games which form the high point of every Trojan football season, especially when Notre Dame comes to Los Angeles in late November and these two huge games are back-to-back on the schedule.

Utah, on the other hand, just played Colorado. One team had some mentally draining and physically taxing games. The other team just played Colorado.

Keep in mind that USC played Cal and Colorado before it played UCLA and Notre Dame. The Trojans were able to win without overextending themselves. Utah could now benefit from that same dynamic. USC is on a short week (Utah is too, of course), after having played tough games. The Trojans could run out of steam midway through the second half. They really need to focus so that they maintain a high level of energy throughout this game.

Here’s more at The Voice of College Football:

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USC-Utah: the dynamics of a rematch aren’t as clear-cut as you might think

Sure, #USC wants revenge, but there’s a counterbalance to this rematch: #Utah wants to spoil the Trojans’ season. Motivation exists on both sides. #Pac12Championship

The USC Trojans are playing for revenge in the Pac-12 Championship Game. That sort of thing doesn’t decide games, but it’s an obvious motivating factor and a part of the backdrop to this contest.

When two evenly-matched teams do get together in a second game within a season, it’s natural to look at the outcome of the first game and conclude that the losing team will have an extra incentive to win. To be sure, it’s natural for a team that lost — when it gets a second chance — to dig in a little more. The team that won obviously wants to sweep the season series, but it’s not the same.

“Let’s do it again!” doesn’t carry the same weight as “let’s make up for the one game which didn’t go our way this whole season!”

Yet, as much as USC is playing for revenge, Utah is playing to spoil USC’s season. Utah is reading and hearing about USC and the College Football Playoff. The Utes’ annoyance could push them and counterbalance the Trojans’ irritation at having lost on October 15 in Salt Lake City.

This was discussed at The Voice of College Football:

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National, local experts predict the Pac-12 Championship Game — USC vs Utah

Who is picking #Utah in this game? Find out in a survey of national outlets, publications and personalities. #Pac12Championship #USC

The time is here.

With everything on the line, the USC Trojans and Utah Utes face off in the Pac-12 title game in Las Vegas on Friday night. If USC wins, the Trojans will secure a spot in the College Football Playoff.

If the Trojans lose, they most likely still end up in a New year’s Six bowl, so Lincoln Riley’s first year as head coach in L.A. is off to a smashing start. However, Utah is a tough team and the only team this year to defeat USC.

Back in October, the Utes stunned the Trojans as Cam Rising ran in a game-winning 2-point conversion in Salt Lake City to secure the win. The Trojans want revenge more than ever against the defending Pac-12 champions.

Here are some of the predictions from experts across the country.

USC run defense has gotten better under Alex Grinch

Utah won’t have Tavion Thomas for Friday’s #Pac12 title game; it’s all about stopping Cam Rising and Dalton Kincaid in the passing game. #USC

UCLA and Notre Dame both wanted to run the ball with consistent success against USC. This would have allowed the Bruins and the Fighting Irish to control the ball, drain the clock, and keep Caleb Williams off the field.

Yet, what happened in these two games? Austin Jones of USC was the rusher who thrived. He topped 100 yards in both games. USC held Zach Charbonnet under 100 yards against UCLA, and it held Audric Estime under 100 yards against Notre Dame.

Alex Grinch isn’t solving every problem for this USC defense, but the run defense — so obviously substandard in the first half of the season — has become solid and relatively consistent in the second half of the season.

As USC prepares to face a Utah team without Tavion Thomas, it’s hard to deny the idea that the Trojans need to focus on stopping the Cam Rising-Dalton Kincaid pitch-and-catch combination. They combined for 16 targets, 16 catches, and 234 yards on Oct. 15 against USC. Stop Cam Rising, contain Dalton Kincaid, win the game.

The team at The Voice of College Football discussed USC’s run defense. Be sure to catch the USC postgame show at The Voice of College Football after Friday night’s Pac-12 Championship Game.

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Utah’s journey in 2022: unbeaten at home, unsteady on the road, successful vs USC

Cam Rising played his best vs #USC and will need to play well again. One interesting talking point: Will the Vegas crowd be pro-Utes, pro-Trojans, or split?

The USC Trojans are facing the Utah Utes in the Pac-12 title game on Friday night in Las Vegas.

The Trojans’ only loss this year came against Utah on a last-minute two-point conversion by Cameron Rising, and now USC has a chance to get revenge on Utah and secure a spot in the College Football Playoff.

Utah finished the year with a 9-3 overall record with losses against Florida, UCLA, and Oregon. With the reigning Pac-12 champions playing USC, let’s look back at the year for the Utes and their 12-game schedule with some notes about each contest.

USC tries to remain aggressive instead of worrying about playoff math and scenarios

Two keys for #USC vs Utah: 1) Contain Dalton Kincaid. 2) Play freely instead of being burdened by playoff pressure. We talked to @MarkRogersTV.

USC had a chance at the College Football Playoff in previous weeks but still needed help.

This past weekend, the Trojans got the help they needed. They are now in an unambiguous “win and in” position relative to the playoff. They were an outsider. Tennessee and LSU were insiders, teams which fully controlled their own fates.

Now USC is the team which controls its own fate.

It is a great place to be, but it can be a scary one, too.

USC could worry that it will lose. It could worry that it will miss this golden opportunity. Utah can play the underdog role to the hilt and put a target on USC’s back, even though the Utes beat the Trojans earlier this season.

It’s really important for USC to find a way to play freely and confidently, and block out the worries and distractions that go with playoff pressure, when it faces Utah this Friday in Las Vegas. We joined Mark Rogers at The Voice of College Football on our weekly YouTube show to discuss this and a whole lot more:

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Seattle will root hard for USC and Lincoln Riley in Pac-12 Championship Game

Multiple times in the past, the Washington #Huskies needed a late-season win by #USC to make the #RoseBowl. That scenario exists again. #Pac12

Seattle and Los Angeles are two Western cities whose sports teams have regularly clashed over the years. The Sonics played the Lakers in multiple NBA Western Conference finals series in the 1980s. The Seahawks played the Los Angeles Raiders in the 1983 AFC Championship Game. The Raiders won and went to Super Bowl XVIII.

The Mariners play the Angels. Now the NHL Kraken face the Kings and the Anaheim Ducks. Washington would be in the Pac-12 Championship Game, not Utah, if it had beaten UCLA this season.

Yet, as much as Seattleites might want to beat L.A., the residents of that city will be pulling hard for USC this Friday night.

Husky fans will be shouting “Fight On!” when the Trojans face Utah in Allegiant Stadium. A USC win not only sends the Men of Troy to the College Football Playoff; it would send Washington to the Rose Bowl.

Washington needing a late-season USC win to go to the Granddaddy is not a new thing. This scenario has existed multiple times before.

Let’s dig into the historical archive:

Lincoln Riley and Garrett Riley begin the most extraordinary week of their lives

Two brothers. Two play-callers. Two coaches with teams 1 win from the playoff. Lincoln and Garrett Riley prepare for a week unlike any other. #USC #TCU

Imagine being Lincoln or Garrett Riley this week. Imagine being Marilyn or Mike Riley, the parents of two sons who are squarely in the middle of the College Football Playoff drama for the 2022 season as it enters its final, fateful weekend.

Garrett Riley’s TCU Horned Frogs are No. 3. Lincoln Riley’s USC Trojans are No. 4. Both the Frogs and Trojans are one win away from the playoff. They have both come so far in such a short period of time at their current schools, and yet one loss this coming weekend could take it all away.

Two brothers embark on one of the most amazing, thrilling journeys of their lives. Let’s explore the nuances and plot points attached to this incredible story within the Riley family:

Pac-12 football rankings: USC plays Utah for the title, but Washington rises

#USC and #Utah will decide the #Pac12 champion, but the #Huskies could become a huge winner of the 2022 season in a few days.

When two teams in a conference play for the championship, one would naturally think they should be ranked No. 1 and No. 2, especially if that conference’s championship game matches the top two teams in the standings and doesn’t use divisions the way the Pac-12 used to.

Yet, life isn’t always that simple.

We rank teams based on resumes, not projections or anticipated results. Therefore, we can’t look ahead in terms of the current rankings we assign to teams.

However, we can certainly tell you if our rankings will change. This is a good time to do that.

There won’t be any Pac-12 rankings next weekend because only one game will be played in the conference, the Pac-12 Championship Game between USC and Utah.

We’re going to rank the Pac-12 this week, and we’ll tell you how the rankings will change based on the outcome of the Pac-12 title game.

Here we go: