What has changed since USC's loss to Utah?...

....What has changed since USC's loss to Utah?

Roundtable: Will USC beat Utah? When did Caleb Williams clinch the Heisman? (msn.com)

Kartje: The Trojans’ lone defeat under Lincoln Riley happened just last month, but it feels like a lifetime ago considering the confidence USC is playing with right now. Players have said that loss — and the heart-wrenching scene after — changed them as a team, and it’s hard to dispute that given what we’ve seen since. Most importantly, a defense that was torched in Salt Lake City has taken a significant step forward, even holding Notre Dame to under 100 yards rushing last week. Caleb Williams is somehow playing even better right now than he was in October, when he threw for 381 yards and five touchdowns. And this time, he’ll presumably have a healthy Jordan Addison at his disposal. This is a different USC team than the one that left Utah heartbroken, one that presumably wouldn’t leave itself in position for a bad penalty or two to impact the final outcome.

Nguyen: From a personnel standpoint, both teams are without their top running backs as Travis Dye suffered a season-ending injury against Colorado and Utah’s Tavion Thomas announced after the loss to Oregon that a toe injury will end his Utah career. But the biggest change for the Trojans is their defense has finally entered the chat. Along with just 90 rushing yards allowed, USC limited — if you can call it that — Notre Dame tight end Michael Mayer to 98 receiving yards with just five yards after the catch. Dalton Kincaid racked up 105 of his 234 receiving yards after the catch. I’ll also add that the atmosphere was electric in Salt Lake City and a neutral site should help USC....