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The last time Utah entered the Coliseum, it was to face a USC team that had just lost at Notre Dame and was led by an interim head coach.
The last time Utah exited the Coliseum, it had regrets.
Kyle Whittingham acknowledged Monday that there are obvious parallels between this Saturday's game and a 19-3 loss in October 2013, when Utah was held to 201 total yards and committed four turnovers, squandering an outstanding defensive performance against an injury-ridden USC squad.
This time, Utah is the nation's No. 3 team, so that part is very, very different.
It's still a 3.5-point underdog, though.
"I don't think anyone will argue that [USC is], year-in, year-out, the most talented team in the Pac-12," Whittingham said.
Generally, interim coaches struggle.
After Steve Spurrier announced his retirement from the other SC last week, a Greenville News analysis of collegefootballpoll.com data found that 16 FBS teams made in-season coaching changes during the previous four seasons (not counting pre-bowl changes), and that those teams were 33-73 thereafter.
Then there's USC. The Trojans finished 6-2 for Ed Orgeron in 2013 after starting 3-2 under Lane Kiffin, with Clay Helton then steering them through a 45-20 Las Vegas Bowl rout of 11-1 Fresno State.
It's Helton's turn again, after USC fired Steve Sarkisian early last week because he "did not meet USC standards and expectations of a head coach," Pat Haden told media.
The Los Angeles Times reported that USC received a visit last week from former All-American wideout Keyshawn Johnson, urging them to succeed so that Helton — and not Chip Kelly, John Harbaugh or even Whittingham — will be installed as the school's permanent head coach.
"They seem to be rallying around him," said Whittingham, who admitted to knowing little about Helton's background. "That's the vibe we get."
It's rare that teams hire interim coaches, but not unprecedented. Clemson's Dabo Sweeney was a midseason replacement for Tommy Bowden after a 3-3 start in 2008.
And if anybody does, the Trojans have the horses. USC's 2015 recruiting class — including Utah preps Osa Masina and Porter Gustin, who have combined for 35 tackles, two sacks and a fumble return for a touchdown — was rated the nation's best by Rivals.
Quarterback Cody Kessler is a poised, accurate passer, "a lot like the [Jared] Goff kid at Cal," Whittingham said, and wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster has been tougher to cover than a tent in a tempest.
Since the two teams met in the Pac-12's inaugural game, Utah has never outgained the Trojans, averaging just 289 total yards of its own.
And even last year's 24-21 Utah victory called upon Travis Wilson to lead a 73-yard scoring drive with two minutes remaining.
Helton may become the fourth USC head coach that Utah will have faced in four years, but ESPN's vaunted Football Power Index figures that the Utes have just a 28.2 percent chance of leaving Los Angeles unscathed.
Bizarrely, that's a lesser chance than FPI gives Utah of winning the Pac-12 Championship — 28.4 percent — and would more than triple Utah's chances of finishing the season undefeated — from 7 percent to 25 percent.
Senior center Siaosi Aiono said of the computer's input, "I'm glad there's somebody out there that's not hyping us up, like everybody else."
Junior defensive end Hunter Dimick said he doesn't plan to let the slight distract him. Oregon was favored against Utah, too, he said.
"I don't know what the equation is that gives us the percent chance to win or not, but so far, we've been doing alright at overcoming it."
Twitter: @matthew_piper —
No. 3 Utah at USC
O Saturday, 5:30 p.m. MDT
TV • Ch. 13