This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

At one point after his injury prior to the season opener, Dominique Hatfield worried that he might have to redshirt during this season.

It wasn't that he thought his injury would take a year to heal — he just couldn't imagine not making it back in time for USC in his senior year.

"I'll be real honest: I wanted that game, plain and simple," he said. "If I missed that game, I was really thinking about redshirting, since I still have it."

That wasn't necessary in a 31-27 win over the Trojans, which saw the senior cornerback and captain finally start the season after missing the first three games with a knee injury. Hatfield finished with five tackles and a pass breakup.

The 21-year-old hails from Los Angeles and freely admits he grew up a huge fan of USC — which gave him all the more motivation to be back for the game. When trainers gave him an estimation of how long his recovery would take, Hatfield said he made his own timeline.

"I talked to the coaches, and I talked to the training staff, and they said we can make it happen, and that's what we did," he said. "It's just a better feeling when you know you have an impact. So it's real great to have that game under my belt."

Hatfield didn't hide his good mood, dancing on the sideline in pregame warmups as he donned a uniform for the first time this year.

It wasn't Utah's secondary's best game: The defense didn't get a pick off of Sam Darnold, and JuJu Smith-Schuster had eight catches for 98 yards. But Hatfield said he took pleasure in the win. After Smith-Schuster notoriously stiff-armed him in last year's game at the Coliseum, the two were able to share some good-natured jawing after Friday's game, he said.

"I'm laughing at the end, I guess you could say," he said. "I know it's my last year. I think it will be his last year at USC, so later on when we cross paths — and hopefully it will be in the NFL — I can tell him, yeah, you got that play, but I got the win in the end."

Utah's offensive line in the limelight

Utah's men up front aren't often spotlighted — senior center J.J. Dielman said "you know that when you sign up for the job." But in light of Utah's strong offensive performance against USC, this week is seeing one of the most criticized units in the season-opener now get some praise.

The Utes didn't allow a sack last week, ran for 186 yards, possessed the ball for more than 38 minutes, and converted on fourth down four times.

"We're just getting a little bit better in practice each day, and each game we've taken a step forward," Dielman said. "I really think the four guys around have played exceptionally well."

It wasn't just Utah's big uglies who got recognition: CoachingSearch.com tapped co-offensive coordinator Jim Harding as the national offensive line coach of the week. Harding was shown on the broadcast pumping his fist and shouting after the game-winning touchdown, letting the emotion of the moment pour over.

Quarterback Troy Williams said he's noticed that Harding can be firm critiquing his linemen, but that so far, he's gotten results.

"He has a great relationship with all of them on the O-line, that whole room," Williams said. "He's hard on them, but I think those guys like it, the whole line likes the fact that he's hard on them. He shows them a lot of respect at the same time. So I think being hard on them has helped them a lot through everything, through the film. And it's paid off tremendously."

Briefly

The kickoff for Utah's home game against Arizona on Oct. 8 has been set for 8 p.m. MDT on Fox Sports 1. It will be Utah's second game to air on Fox Sports 1, after the USC game.

kgoon@sltrib.com Twitter: @kylegoon