No. 20 Utah put their stamp on a wild day of college football Saturday night with a thrilling 43–42 upset victory over No. 7 USC.
The Utes rallied from an early 21–7 deficit to tie the game, 35–35, early in the fourth quarter before USC pulled ahead with a 20-yard Caleb Williams touchdown pass. The Utes took over on their own 25-yard line with 6:04 left in regulation and marched 75 yards down the field for a one-yard TD run and a game-winning two-point conversion by quarterback Cameron Rising
“It’s incredible,” Utes coach Kyle Whittingham said on the broadcast after the game. “And on a night where we’re honoring our two fallen teammates and to have it go down in this fashion, this is one of the most exciting games in Rice-Eccles Stadium history.”
As Whittingham noted, Utah entered the night with heavy hearts as the team donned helmets designed in honor of former players Ty Jordan and Aaron Lowe. Jordan, a running back, died in Dec. 2020 and Lowe, a cornerback, in Sept. 2021; the program has since retired both players’ No. 22 jerseys after Lowe had changed his number from 2 to 22 to honor his fallen friend.
Rising rose to the occasion with the Utes fighting to avoid their second loss of the season. After Rising scored on a one-yard plunge to pull within one, Whittingham elected to go for two instead of kicking the extra-point attempt and again called Rising’s number. The junior QB would deliver with a gutsy scamper into the end zone to cap a career-best performance and give Utah the deciding edge, much to delight of the roaring crowd at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Rising dominated the Trojans en route to 415 yards and two touchdowns on 30 of 44 attempts; he also added 11 carries for 60 yards and another three scores. Tight end Dalton Kincaid also turned in a career night with 16 receptions for 234 yards and TD, the most for a Ute since 1988.
Utah’s emphatic win marked another thrilling matchup on a Saturday slate loaded with classics between AP top-25 opponents.
According to ESPN Stats & Info, Saturday was the first day in college football history with three AP-ranked matchups where both teams scored 40-plus points (No. 6 Tennessee defeated No. 3 Alabama, 52-49; No. 13 TCU defeated No 8 Oklahoma State, 43-40).
More College Football Coverage:
For more Utah Utes coverage, go to All Utes.
