It's do-or-die time for the Trojans. The team is 4-3 as it hosts Utah on Saturday, and with a difficult remaining schedule, a loss to the Utes could put USC in serious jeopardy of finishing under .500 for the first time since 2000.

The Utes won't go down easily, but USC's biggest challenge on Saturday could be injuries. Tailback Justin Davis and linebacker Lamar Dawson were declared out for the season this week, star defensive end Morgan Breslin, wideout Marqise Lee as well as cornerback Anthony Brown and all three scholarship tight ends will be out for tomorrow's game, while No. 2 wideout Nelson Agholor as well as running back Tre Madden and Dion Bailey are still up in the air to play. 

While USC is unsure of who will be ready to play, the Utes are unsure of which squad will show up on the field. Will it be the Utah team that stunned No. 5 Stanford two weeks ago, or the one that lost by double digits to Arizona, who USC beat 38-31, last week? To find out more, we brought in Ryan McDonald, sports editor for the Daily Utah Chronicle.

Jacob Freedman: Utah shocked the nation two weeks ago by knocking off Stanford, then went on the road and lost to Arizona. What was the biggest difference in play you saw from the Utes in those two games, and what facet does Utah need to improve the most to defeat the Trojans? 

Ryan McDonald: The Utes just came out flat against Arizona. The defense came out bad and the offensive line came out awful. Quarterback Travis Wilson didn’t play well in the first half either, which was made worse by the fact that the offensive line played so poorly. Wilson was 3-of-9 for just 15 yards in the first half. Then he got hurt late in the second quarter and Adam Schulz came in. Schulz showed some good things, but also that he can’t lead the offense for four quarters. The defense woke up in the second half and did some good things, but the offense then couldn’t do enough to stay in the game without Wilson. To put the icing on the cake, kicker Andy Phillips, who entered the game as the nation’s best kicker from a statistical standpoint, missed two field goal attempts on the night. The Arizona game was just bad all the way around except for the defense in the second half. To beat USC, Utah needs Wilson to be healthy first and foremost, then the offensive line needs to play well. The defense will surely play well, but I’m not as sure about the offensive line.

Freedman: Wilson said he's optimistic he'll play on Saturday, but a thumb injury leaves his status up in the air. How crucial is him playing to Utah's success, and what are the big differences between him and backup Adam Schulz, who played against Arizona? 

McDonald: The Utes absolutely need Wilson to play well if they want to win. Adam Schulz has a nice arm, but Wilson is just better. He’s bigger, faster, more athletic, a better decision maker and more experienced than Schulz.

Freedman: The Utes have allowed over 140 yards on the ground in five of their seven games. How will Utah stop USC's rushing attack of Silas Redd, Tre Madden (questionable for Saturday) and Buck Allen, or will this be the biggest mismatch for the Trojans to exploit?

McDonald: I actually think the Utes are quite confident in their run defense. It’s the secondary that is troublesome. It’s getting better quickly, but it’s still not great. Depending on how healthy Marqise Lee is, that ought to be Utah’s biggest concern on defense.

Freedman: Utah has four players, including Wilson, that have carried the ball at least 30 times this year. What does each running back provide, and how do you expect the Utes to utilize the ground game against a staunch USC front seven? 

McDonald: The run game has been very interesting for Utah this year. When coaches said during fall camp that they would use a platoon system, everyone figured it was because none of the running backs were very good. Instead, all of them have been good, but none has been great enough to separate himself as the lead guy. Kyle Whittingham wanted that to happen early, but I think he’s content at this point with the platoon system. Bubba Poole, who has separated himself just a bit, is a fast, shifty player. Kelvin York is more of a power runner. Lucky Radley is kind of a mixture of Poole and York. As for Wilson, he’s a much more athletic runner than he looks. Utah will use all four against USC. If one guy looks like he’s on that day, he’ll probably wind up getting most of the carries, but who that will end up being is a mystery. As for how effective Utah will be, that depends a lot on the offensive line. That’s almost always the case, but for the Utes it’s especially true. The line played incredibly well against Stanford, which was a big reason Utah won. Then the line played terribly against Arizona, which was a big reason Utah lost. The real line is somewhere in between those two performances. I'm not sure they can play as well as they did against Stanford, but they can play better than they did against Arizona.

Freedman: The win over Stanford was Utah's best since joining the Pac-12 two years ago. Is there disappointment that the days of Mountain West dominance are gone, or excitement for their future in the Pac-12? How big would wins over USC and Stanford over three weeks be? 

McDonald: I think it’s mostly excitement for the future. BCS-busting was fun, but the Pac-12 is better in the long run, even if they’re going through growing pains now. As they showed against Stanford, though, they’re genuinely not content to just be in the conference. They want to compete. To be completely honest, nobody is looking at a win over USC as though it would be an upset. The Stanford win definitely was, but because the Trojans are down this year, a Utah win wouldn’t be that huge of a deal despite the tradition there.

Freedman: What is your prediction for Saturday's game?

McDonald: I really feel like these two teams are pretty even. 20-17, USC. 

Neon Tommy Editor Predictions

Jacob Freedman: USC 28, Utah 21

Max Meyer: USC 21, Utah 17

Jeremy Bergman: USC 17, Utah 13