Matchup Breakdown: Utah's stifling run defense, pass rush a test for USC

It changes over the years, that team that emerges as the perpetual thorn in the side for USC, and it will change yet again in the coming years as the Trojans move on to the Big Ten.

But right now, there's no question that it's Utah.

The Utes, winners of the last two Pac-12 championships, dealt USC its only regular-season loss last year in a dramatic, down-to-the-wire 43-42 finish in Salt Lake City and then finished off the Trojans and its hobbled quarterback, 47-24, in the conference championship game.

And now No. 14-ranked Utah (5-1, 2-1 Pac-12) stands between No. 18 USC (6-1, 4-0) and its goals for this season, as the Trojans need to bounce back in a big way from a 48-20 loss at Notre Dame if they're going to maintain any College Football Playoff hopes or mount a return to the Pac-12 title game.

RELATED: Ute Nation's Alex Markham breaks down the matchup on the Trojan Talk Podcast

Meanwhile, if there is any further weight attached to this particular matchup given what transpired last year, QB Caleb Williams wasn't going to give it the spotlight this week.

"Another chance to go and get a win on Saturday in the Coliseum -- you know, we don't measure wins, we don't circle games," he said. "The only game that you can measure is the last one and we're not there -- we're far from there -- and we've got a shot to go get it, so we've got to focus on this week, focus on this moment and go get this game."

Coach Lincoln Riley also pushed forth the point that these are different teams than the ones that clashed twice in 2022.

"This is going to be a new challenge. We’ve got some new personnel, they've got some new personnel," he said. "It’s a fun group to match up with against. I have a lot of respect for them. I enjoy playing against really good defenses, really good coordinators, really good players – they’ve got all three."

This is indeed a different matchup in one major regard.

While it was expected all along, ESPN's Pete Thamel reported Saturday morning that quarterback Cam Rising will not make his long-awaited return from injury Saturday vs. USC and may not return at all this season.

That leaves junior Bryson Barnes to make his fourth start. Barnes has completed 38 of 66 passes for 398 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions with 22 rushes for 79 yards and 2 TDs.

Whereas Rising was a dynamic field leader for the Utes who played his absolute best against USC -- 415 passing yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs, 60 rushing yards and 3 TDs in the first meeting last year, and 310 yards, 3 TDs and 0 INTs in the second meeting -- Barnes is a "game manager" in the purest form. His season-high passing yards in a game is 159.

The Utes have still found a way to start 5-1 without Rising this year, and it's been largely due to their defense -- one that ranks fifth in giving up just 12.2 points per game and ninth in total defense at 277.8 yards per game allowed.

"They're playing at a high level. They've obviously returned a lot of really good players on both sides of the ball, and you see their same personality," Riley said. "They've had a really good year defensively, continuing to limit people, make big plays like they always tend to do, and a lot of familiar faces on that side of the ball. Offensively, they've obviously looked a little bit different at times with the quarterback position being a little bit of a revolving door for them, but they've still found ways to make some key plays in games, even some of the games where they haven't scored a ton of points they've made enough key plays to win those ballgames. They've done a good job adapting to the different skill sets they've played at quarterback."

"Yeah, we know what this one is, right? We both, we know each other pretty well. They're a team, coaching staff, all that, that we have a ton of respect for. We've had two good battles against them and looking forward to the third."

Let's take a closer look at the matchup ahead of kickoff Saturday night at 5 p.m. PT in the Coliseum (on FOX) ...

Record: 5-1 overall, 2-1 Pac-12

AP ranking: No. 14

Notable games: Utah beat Florida (24-11) and Baylor (20-13) to headline non-conference play and have beaten UCLA (14-7) and Cal (34-14) in conference play so far, while taking its only loss on the road at Oregon State (21-7).

Coach: Kyle Whittingham, 19th season (159-75)

Series history: USC leads the all-time series, 13-9, with a 9-2 record in Los Angeles, but Utah has won the last three meetings overall.

Familiar faces: USC running backs coach Kiel McDonald spent five seasons (2017-2021) as Utah’s RBs coach. ... Trojans tight end Carson Tabaracci started his college career at Utah, while Utes safety Briton Allen played for USC from 2019-2022 and wide receiver Munir McClain played for USC from 2019-2020. McClain has 4 catches for 133 yards over four games while Allen has just 2 tackles in 2 games.

With Cam Rising recovering from the ACL tear he sustained in the Rose Bowl, Utah has alternated between Bryson Barnes and Nate Johnson at quarterback. With Barnes, a fourth-year junior who initially joined the program as a walk-on, set to start against USC, expect a limited passing attack and a heavy emphasis on the ground game.

It also hasn't helped that tight end Thomas Yassmin, who had 2 catches for 81 yards and a TD vs. USC in the Pac-12 championship game last year, is out for the season with injury. Utah does have capable receivers in Mikey Matthews (21 catches for 202 yards), Money Parks (12-169-2 TDs) and Devaughn Vele (12-164), but there just isn't the trust in Barnes to have him take many chances through the air.

On the ground, Utah is again led by Ja'Quinden Jackson (61 carries for 333 yards and 1 TD) with Jaylon Glover (70-249-2) behind him, but the breakout star last week for the Utes was two-way talent Sione Vaki, who plays safety on defense and also rushed 15 times for 158 yards and 2 TDs vs. Cal last week.

Utah's highest-graded offensive lineman by PFF is right tackle Sataoa Laumea, who has allowed 9 pressures on 0 sacks this year, while true freshman Spencer Fano had starting at left tackle but was injured last week and played only 8 snaps. His status has been uncertain for this game.

No surprise, the Utes are one of the top defenses in the country -- true to their identity under Kyle Whittingham.

Utah is especially dominant against the run, ranking second nationally in allowing an average of just 66.83 rushing yards per game. In fact, only two teams have rushed for more than that against the Utes -- Baylor (121 rushing yards on 4.2 yards per carry) and Oregon State (131 yards on 3.6 YPC). Florida mustered just 13 rushing yards (factoring in lost sack yardage) and UCLA had only 9.

The Utes also rank among the national leaders in sacks (3.67 per game) and tackles for loss (7.67).

"I told our guys, I think their best attribute in the pass rush is they don't ever quit. They have great motors," USC offensive line coach Josh Henson said this week. "When they fit up on you and then they re-pass, they're really good at their secondary rush moves, getting off of you after they fit up on you and they give great effort. So we've got to strain, we've got to finish, we've got to be good with our hands."

The aforementioned Vaki leads the team with 33 tackles and also has 6.5 tackles for loss and an interception.

Junior defensive end Jonah Elliss is a wrecking ball up front with 29 tackles, 13 tackles for loss and 9 sacks, which ranks third nationally.

Junior safety Cole Bishop is another playmaker with 32 tackles, 4.5 TFLs, 2 sacks, 2 interceptions, 2 pass breakups and a forced fumble, while sophomore linebacker Lander Barton has 25 tackles and 2 picks.

Utah's cornerbacks have also been fairly stingy as junior Zemaiah Vaughn has allowed 13 receptions for 236 yards on 28 targets with 4 pass breakups and a pick, while senior Miles Battle has given up just 10 catches for 157 yards on 24 targets with 2 PBUs.

This one comes down to the ability of the USC offensive line to bounce back from his its worst performance of the season last week, allowing 6 sacks and a ton of pressures to Notre Dame, against now the best defensive front it's faced all season in Utah. The Utes had 5 sacks last week against Cal, 3 the previous game vs. Oregon State and 7 vs. UCLA.