First-and-10: The top takeaways and critiques from USC's big win over Utah

**Every week, the morning after the game, our Tajwar Khandaker breaks down the 10 biggest takeaways, observations, critiques and criticisms from USC's performance. And the Trojans gave him plenty to dissect Friday night with a momentous 30-23 win over No. 10 Utah.**

Before we get into the good, bad, and ugly, lets start with the masterful. Michael Pittman’s performance last night was nothing but, as he put on the best individual receiving performance for any Trojan since Biletnikoff Award winner Marqise Lee back in 2012. Pittman caught 10 balls for a touchdown and 232 yards -- the best single-game performance in college football so far this season. Earlier this week, I broke down Pittman’s film from BYU and made the case that USC’s offense was at its most dangerous when Pittman was given shots to win one-on-one down the field, and lo and behold that became the defacto game plan Friday night.

After taking the reins from an injured Kedon Slovis three plays into the opening drive, Matt Fink decided his best bet was to get the ball towards Pittman and let #6 do his thing, and that decision carried the Trojan offense last night. Pittman burned Utah’s defensive backs downfield, Mossed them on contested catches and straight up beat them on shorter routes underneath. Many have argued that Pittman is a legitimate first-round draft pick, and last night he made a strong supporting case for himself. Whoever plays quarterback for the Trojans going forward should do their best to remember that.

I mentioned in the roundtable that I thought Slovis would have a good game against Utah, and that if USC were to pull out a win, it would be behind his arm in the passing attack. Well, I’ll give myself half points for that one. After Slovis went down with what turned out to be a concussion after the second snap of the game, Fink took over the offense and delivered a game much like the one I had expected from the man he was replacing. Fink made his share of mistakes, but he was poised and confident enough to give his uber-talented pool of receivers the chance to make plays, and they didn’t disappoint.

We’ve all said this countless times, but the Trojans’ receiver group is one of if not the best in college football. Graham Harrell’s offense gives them the opportunity to maximize their unique skill sets, and we’ve now seen that as long as a quarterback is willing to hang in the pocket and give those guys a chance, they can tear open a game. Fink threw a number of questionably placed balls, but it didn’t matter -- Pittman and Amon-Ra St. Brown turned them into gold, and the quarterback deserves credit for recognizing that they could do just that. USC’s passing attack has all the pieces in place to be super-productive on every given day with any given quarterback, and I expect Slovis to pick up right were Fink left off whenever he is cleared to return.

For the fourth time in as many weeks, the Trojan offensive line was largely superb in its pass blocking. Utah brought a talented and stout defensive line to the Coliseum, and although the Utes got in a few hits -- inculding the one that knocked Slovis out of the game quickly -- they ended the night with only one sack. For the most part, Fink had all the time he needed to throw, and it can’t be understated how essential that fact was to his success. Many of the biggest plays of the day came after long development, and the credit for that has to go to the offensive line. Although the interior line allows the occasional pressure, the tackles have been exceptional, especially LT Austin Jackson. Under the tutelage of Tim Drevno, the group has progressed wonderfully from what it was in past years. If this unit had played at the level of last year’s offensive line, there’s a strong case to be made that USC would be 0-4 right now.

I’m tired of writing about this, but the lack of carries given to Markese Stepp was equally egregious this week as it was when it became a major talking point coming off the BYU loss. The big sophomore didn’t get his name called until the late stages of the game, and as a shock to no one who’s been watching him play, he delivered when given the chance. Stepp took one of his 3 carries for a 4 yard touchdown, bowling through a helpless defender, and another to grind out a crucial third-and-short late in the game.

On a night where the Trojans were miserable in the ground game (they finished with 13 net rushing yards), it seemed like common sense to play the back who can tote the ball at least 3-4 yards on every carry even with defenders draped over him. But once again, for whatever reason, he was relegated to the role of spectator until the very end. Whatever the rationale is for not playing Stepp more, there has to be some agreement among RBs coach Mike Jinks, Harrell and Clay Helton on it. It’s incredibly frustrating to watch such a talented young player wait on the sidelines while others struggle ahead of him, but his first career touchdown last night was a truly warming moment. He’ll never forget the handshake from Reggie Bush that followed -- I promise you that.