USC vs. Utah kickoff time announced for Oct. 20 game

The USC vs. Utah kickoff time on October 20 has been set as the Trojans look to exorcise demons in Salt Lake City with an evening game on the Pac-12 Network.

The Trojans have one Pac-12 South opponent on the mind this week, but another is still looming large.

Kickoff time for this year’s USC vs. Utah game was announced on Monday, with a start set for 5:00 p.m. Pacific on the Pac-12 Network.

That makes it the sixth straight kickoff under the lights for the Trojans, who will be traveling to Salt Lake City for the critical divisional game, which will begin at 6:00 p.m. local time.

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Should USC best Colorado this weekend, they will be in the driver’s seat and looking to pick up another key tie breaker in the South. Should the Trojans fall at the Coliseum, they will come into the Utah game with two conference losses on their record. A must-win game would be on the cards at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

Either way, the Utes are likely to be in a must-win situation. They picked up two early conference losses in September against Washington and Washington State, but salvaged their campaign with an upset over Stanford last weekend. A win over Arizona this week would put them in prime position to give USC their second conference loss, evening the playing field, will also nabbing the tie breaker themselves.

The Utes are led by quarterback Tyler Huntley and running back Zach Moss, who is averaging 5.78 yards per carry and has already scored six touchdowns on the ground. Defensively, they have a veteran linebacker corps including Chase Hansen, who has posted 10 tackles for loss in five games as a senior.

USC has found it difficult in Salt Lake City recently. The Trojans have lost their last two games by slim margins, falling by three points in 2014 and four points in 2016.

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Last year, USC survived a late two-point conversion attempt from Utah to come away with a 28-27 victory at the Coliseum.