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Los Angeles

Well, that wasn't exactly the way folks back home imagined it would be, not the way the Utes envisioned or hoped it would be.

Not when they were making history and all, playing in their first-ever Pac-12's game, meeting the new conference's glamour team on its home field and showing it what Utah football is all about.

History, it turns out, didn't favor the Utes.

It tried to. It almost did. It cracked the beginnings of a grin, and, then, couldn't quite full-on smile on them at the end. It shoveled opportunity toward Utah, again and again. But nearly enough wasn't … nearly enough, not on this momentous occasion, not against USC at the L.A. Coliseum.

Instead, the Utes were forced to accept a 23-14 loss, as the Trojans tried their best to hand over victory. But neither the gifting, nor the defeat — to Utah's credit — brought any satisfaction.

"It's never fun to lose that way," Jordan Wynn said afterward. "It's never fun to lose, period."

A review of the last few seconds illustrated and underscored the Utes' aggravation, and pointed the blame directly back at them.

Trailing by three, they had one final shot at a win, taking possession on their own 33-yard line with about a minute to play. Wynn hit Dres Anderson to midfield. Thereafter, he tossed a ball to USC linebacker Hayes Pullard, who dropped it. On fourth down and with 26 seconds left, Wynn fired a pass to DeVonte Christopher, who made it to the 39, just inches short of a first down.

Game over.

Hold it.

A ref's review of the spot advanced the ball a foot to a first down and new life for the Utes.

With 20 seconds remaining, a Wynn floater to Anderson down the right sideline fell incomplete ... but a pass interference call re-spotted the ball for Utah on the 24. With 11 seconds left, the Utes went straightaway to a field-goal attempt, which was a questionable decision.

You know what happened next: The kick was blocked and run back for a USC touchdown.

The Utes were done.

"We had plenty of chances," Wynn said. "And we just didn't take advantage of them."

On a night, then, when the Trojans outgained Utah, 415 yards to 319, when they had three drives shorted out by their own mistakes — an interception at the Utes' 15, a fumble at the Utes' 16, and a fumble that set up a subsequent Utes touchdown — Utah could not make them pay, could not close the deal, couldn't win the game.

The Utes had five chances in the fourth quarter alone to get ahead and they never did.

"We needed to come out with a victory," said linebacker Chaz Walker.

"It's a moral victory, but that's not what we needed. We played good, but we needed the W."

At beginning and end, going all the way back 15 months, the context of the whole thing was important to Utah's coaches and players.

After all the anticipation and celebration, after press conferences turned into pep rallies, after Pac-12 officials handed them an offer they couldn't refuse, after a guy from the Tournament of Roses gave them a bouquet of long-stemmed blossoms, after more than a year of waiting and wondering and working and wigging out, and, then, after one more splash of pomp and circumstance just before the opening kick of a whole new enterprise, they wanted more than a decent showing.

On account of that, as the big, bad door to opportunity finally swung open to the Utes on Saturday night, it ... it ...

Busted them straight in the lips.

Left them spitting and bleeding on USC's home turf.

"There's no happiness in a loss," Wynn said.

It was a sentiment worthy of the occasion.

Gordon Monson hosts "The Gordon Monson Show" weekdays from 2-6 p.m. on 97.5 FM/1280 AM The Zone. Twitter: @GordonMonson.