This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Utahns like to think of ourselves as self-reliant people, always willing to offer assistance but never asking for it.
The Utah Utes need help this weekend from a most unlikely source — the Oregon Ducks, the team they beat by six touchdowns in September. By 5 p.m. Saturday, the Utes could find themselves back in control of the Pac-12 South race. If Utah beats UCLA at Rice-Eccles Stadium and USC loses at Oregon, the Utes will go into the final weekend of the regular season with a one-game lead.
Utah has been in a similar position twice this decade. The irony is that everything fell the Utes' way each time — except for the little detail of winning their own game. In 2011, they needed to beat lowly Colorado in a sequence of events that included Arizona State's loss to California and UCLA's loss to USC, but they couldn't do it, falling 17-14 at home.
The help came retroactively last season, with Arizona State losing to Arizona and UCLA losing to Stanford on the final weekend of the regular season. That was too late for the Utes, who had lost 42-10 to Arizona the previous week. As Utes coach Kyle Whittingham said then, "This happened, this happened, this happened … but we didn't take care of business."
Compared with that history of outside influences, having USC lose to Oregon on Whittingham's 56th birthday would be relatively minor. It shapes up as a fun afternoon of scoreboard watching, with both games kicking off at 1:30 p.m. MST. Oregon has made a resurgence since that 62-20 debacle against Utah in Eugene, while USC has not overwhelmed any opponent after beating Utah 42-24 in Los Angeles in late October.
The biggest complication in the Utes' quest for their first Pac-12 South title is the absence of running back Devontae Booker, clearly their most valuable player. His knee injury is a flashback to 2011, when John White was injured in the first quarter of the loss to Colorado.
The offensive load shifts to senior quarterback Travis Wilson, who could become a compelling story, considering his up-and-down career and his history against UCLA as an Orange County product. Wilson lost to UCLA at the Rose Bowl in his first career start, threw six interceptions against the Bruins as a sophomore and was benched after two possessions last year in Pasadena in a game that backup quarterback Kendal Thompson ended up winning — with a lot of help from Booker.
UCLA can win the South title with victories over Utah and USC. Because of those head-to-head opportunities, the Bruins were not badly hurt by last week's loss to Washington State. This is a big stage for freshman quarterback Josh Rosen against a Utah defense that recorded 10 sacks of former Bruins QB Brett Hundley last year.
This is really the first season when Utah's celebrated home-field aura has taken told in Pac-12 play. The atmosphere will have to make an impact in this game.
The Utes also may have to overcome a Whittingham family trend. Timpview coach Cary Whittingham, playing for the Class 4A state championship Friday night vs. East, is 3-0 in title games at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Each of the previous three years, his brother's Utah teams have lost the next day. Just in case there's something to this theory, Utes fans may want to cheer for East.
Twitter: @tribkurt