USC and Utah both collapsed since 2022 Pac-12 Championship Game

The 2022 Pac-12 Championship Game was a brutal experience for USC. The Trojans were one win from the College Football Playoff and took an early lead over the Utes. Caleb Williams, the Heisman Trophy winner that year, got injured. Utah came back in the second half to win. The loss was painful, but it felt like the beginning, not the end, for Lincoln Riley and the Trojans. They figured to play in more conference championship games and have more chances to make the playoff in the future. Utah and Kyle Whittingham also figured to continue to be good. Whittingham had figured out how to win consistently, claiming back-to-back Pac-12 titles and making consecutive Rose Bowls.

Imagine anyone telling you on that December night in Las Vegas that two years later, USC and Utah would both be lost at sea in October of the 2024 season, with no hope of any significant goal. USC and Utah won’t play for a conference title. They won’t make the playoff. They won’t play in a New Year’s Six bowl game. All of those hopes are gone while other highly unlikely teams pursue championships. Utah rival BYU is looking at a playoff berth and Big 12 title. Indiana, not USC, is a Big Ten title contender. This is crazy. Let’s look at what has gone so deeply wrong for USC and Utah, as these programs confront the reality of a wasted 2024 season and try to start building for 2025:

CAM RISING

In 2023, Cam Rising’s health hijacked Utah’s season. It was unfair to criticize the Utah staff too much, because they had the impression Rising would be healthy enough to play a few weeks into the season, only for the medical diagnosis to change. That was simply unfortunate.

However, in 2024, Utah’s staff needed to plan ahead and have a ready-to-play quarterback in the portal as Rising’s backup. Whittingham and Andy Ludwig did not do that. This year, they deserve more criticism than in 2023. They had to have known this (Rising being unhealthy) was a possibility.

ANDY LUDWIG OUT AT UTAH

JOSH HENSON

There are lots of reasons USC is failing, but the main one is Josh Henson. The inability to develop a tough, nasty offensive line is the main reason the Trojans have failed to close out these tight games on the road in the Big Ten. This is the big decision Lincoln Riley has to make on his coaching staff heading into 2025.

USC OFFENSE IN HIGH-LEVERAGE SITUATIONS

USC’s offense has been good at times, but rarely in very important, game-deciding situations. USC passed the test against LSU in Week 1, but it flunked in its next four close-game situations.

USC had the ball and the lead with five minutes left at Michigan and couldn’t get a first down.

USC had the ball up 17-10 at Minnesota and couldn’t score. USC had the ball in a 17-17 tie and couldn’t score. USC had the ball down 24-17 and couldn’t tie the game.

USC had the ball in a 30-30 tie against Penn State twice — late fourth quarter and then overtime — and couldn’t score.

USC had the ball up 28-22 at Maryland with a chance to end the game by running out the clock. USC couldn’t get a first down.

Since the LSU game, USC has failed in every high-leverage situation, with the offensive line not playing well on any of those possessions. That’s why we can say the offensive line is the main unit holding this program back, even though other players and units have also contributed to this mess at USC.

PORTAL PICKUPS

Recruiting is the main avenue for roster construction, but the transfer portal is essential in plugging those two or three holes on a roster. Look at Miami as a perfect example. Getting an elite quarterback, Cam Ward, has instantly taken The U from the outhouse to the penthouse. Terrible in 2023, the Canes are now a playoff contender in 2024. That’s what the portal can do, and that’s how important the portal is. Neither USC nor Utah made the big portal additions — at quarterback for Utah, at offensive and defensive tackle for USC — that could save the roster at a position of acute need. These programs have to be better in the portal in the coming offseason.

ADAPT OR DIE

Kalen DeBoer was great at Washington. He is struggling in Year 1 at Alabama. Kirby Smart and Georgia beat Texas but have looked ordinary for large portions of the season. Nick Saban has retired, and maybe he sensed how volatile college football was becoming in the era of the portal and NIL. Everything in the sport feels fragile right now. Coaches must adapt quickly or fade into irrelevance. Lincoln Riley and Kyle Whittingham have to be aware of how rapidly everything is changing. They have to plan a few moves ahead, and they haven’t done that since their meeting in the 2022 Pac-12 Championship Game.

This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC and Utah both collapsed since 2022 Pac-12 Championship Game