A host of guys who shouldn’t be in the backfield, suddenly piling on top of the five-star freshman quarterback one after the other, each able to happily look up and see their teammate rise up and snag an easy interception, thwarting any semblance of momentum.
That’s what great defenses do. That’s what Utah does annually. That’s what the Utes did Saturday evening, in this much-hyped biggest game ever in the school’s Pac-12 Conference era. When Britain Covey coughed up a punt late in the third quarter, putting the USC Trojans in striking distance a few yards away from the end zone, the defense said no.