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USC vs. Utah prediction roundtable with the Campus Insiders staff. Breaking down what will happen in Friday night’s matchup between the Trojans and Utes.

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The USC Trojans enter their Week 4 matchup against the Utah Utes needing a win. Utah will be the third ranked team USC has faced, with the Trojans having dropped the other two contests.

USC holds a 10-4 advantage in the overall series, including last year’s 42-14 win in Los Angeles.

Jonathan Bass

It must be hell being a USC fan. Pete Carroll built up the empire, and then the house of cards fell. Lane Kiffin came in and failed. Steve Sarkisian was next and that didn’t end well either. Chris Petersen was so worried about the athletic department’s leadership structure that he turned down the gig. Pat Haden was reportedly too insecure to extend an offer to Chip Kelly, who reportedly would’ve said yes. Clay Helton is overmatched. The team didn’t take Alabama seriously. Stanford beat the hell out of the Trojans. And now there’s a new quarterback under center only four weeks into the season. Somewhere, deep in the backwoods of Louisiana, Ed Orgeron is letting out a big, guttural belly laugh.

Utes win by double digits.

Robert Judin

Well, it happened, and many will argue that it should have happened a while ago. But Clay Helton has officially pulled Max Browne as the starting quarterback and replaced him with Sam Darnold. The redshirt freshman doesn’t have the easiest task in facing the Utah defense, but he at least has some weapons around him. That being said, both teams will do work out of the backfield, but it will be the Utes who snag the win thanks to linebacker Cody Barton and the defensive effort.

Dave Miller

Redshirt freshman Sam Darnold will get the start for the Trojans, and head coach Clay Helton will try to get JuJu Smith-Schuster involved after he caught a mere three passes for 34 yards in the loss to Stanford. Darnold will rely on the rushing combo of Justin Davis and Ronald Jones, but the Cody Barton-led Utes defense will make things tough for USC offensively. It’s a tough environment in Salt Lake City, even for a team playing its best football. The Utes take care of the football on offense and ride their defense to a 23-19 win.

Brian Stultz

Taking Stanford and Christian McCaffrey seriously didn’t help the Trojans either, so what is their next move? Playing in Salt Lake City is never easy, especially when changing to a new quarterback. Let’s face it: Clay Helton is in way over his head as head coach at USC, and it will show in the record as the Trojans fall to 1-3. I’m looking forward to Lynn Swann having to make an important decision when hiring the next coach.

MORE: College Football Predictions For Every Week 4 Game