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Utah offensive coordinator Dave Christensen joked Tuesday he hasn't slept since head coach Kyle Whittingham imposed the moratorium for media on speaking to his assistants.

That may be true, but not because he misses us.

In three Pac-12 games, Christensen's up-tempo spread offense started to look like a much slower, run-heavy, clock control offense. Utah's quarterbacks have combined for a single passing touchdown, while junior running back revelation Devontae Booker has carried the team on his back.

Christensen isn't aiming to be one-dimensional, he said during his spot media appearance, but the passing game isn't working out, and there's no one reason why.

"It's a number of problems," Christensen said. "We have drops at times. We have misses at times. We have protection breakdowns at times. It's an accumulation of things."

As for the first, the spate of drops is simply due to a lack of focus from receivers who are plenty capable, he said.

"These guys can all catch a football. They did it all through training camp. They did it early on."

Injury report

Asked about the status of injured senior free safety Tevin Carter, who has two interceptions and 3.5 tackles for loss in the four games he's played, Whittingham said it's not looking good for USC.

"Just hoping that he can be out here, but it's looking questionable at best," Whittingham said. "… I'm holding out some optimism for him being there, but I don't have a great read on that now."

Senior linebacker Jacoby Hale, recovering from surgery for a torn ACL in spring ball, is back taking all the reps with the No. 2 defense, after sitting out some reps last week.

Playing largely on passing downs, Hale recorded 37 tackles and 6.5 sacks in 2013.

"We hope to get some good play out of him this weekend," Whittingham said. "We need him to give us depth at that position."

Wilson keeps faith

He went just 5-for-10 for 45 yards, but it was enough.

"Things happen for a reason," said junior Travis Wilson, who relieved onetime backup Kendal Thompson in the second half in Corvallis. "Me coming back in the second half of the game was meant to happen. I've just got to make sure I do my part."

It's nice knowing he's the announced starter, he said, but he's still competing for his job, and Whittingham said Monday that Utah fans should not be surprised to see Thompson play against the Trojans.

Wilson believes the passing game can get back on track: It's normal to struggle from time to time, he said, "but we've just got to make sure it doesn't linger for the entire season."

Apples to oranges

Utah beat Fresno State 59-27, while USC beat Fresno State 52-13.

Utah beat Oregon State 29-23, while USC beat Oregon State 35-10.

So 5-2 USC is that little bit better than 5-1 Utah, right?

No. At least, it doesn't work like that.

"It's somewhat of a measuring stick, but not absolute," Whittingham said. "We had Oregon State on the road, they had Oregon State at home. We both had Fresno at home. So yeah, you can read a little bit into that, but it doesn't always tell the tale." —

No. 20 USC at No. 19 Utah

O Saturday, 8 p.m.

TV • FS1