Opponent Preview: USC

Greetings from Los Angeles. This week is one of my favorite weeks of the entire season- not just because we are playing my most hated foe in the conference, not because we get a chance to bounce back after last week’s gut wrenching loss, but because this week marks the fourth year in a row where I’ve been lucky enough to round up some of my closest friends and catch a Utah game on the road. In 2014, nearly 20 unruly Utes took to Stanford to watch us pull of a gritty double-overtime win over the Cardinal. In 2015, a contingent of us took our talents to Eugene and saw the Utes demolish the Ducks. I’m sure we were a nightmare to sit next to, especially when Britain Covey and Boobie Hobbs executed one of the best trick punt returns ever. In 2016, we wept when Zack Moss failed to put the ball into the endzone as time expired, and Utah took its first loss in Berkeley. This year, our group decided to take in the views from West Hollywood, Venice Beach, and the Coloseum.

This week’s “opponent preview” is going to be a little different. Rather than focus on and break down USC’s offense or defense (let’s be real, USC is good. They’re athletic on both sides of the ball. Yes, Darnold has been underwhelming, yes they’ve eeked out wins that have been more definitive, but overall, this is a great team that consistently plays for the Pac 12 title), I’ll be posting a few articles throughout the weekend breaking down our trip to LA- where we ate, what we drank (!), the tailgate, and the game experience itself.

Apologies in advance for the late post, we’ve just been as “device free” as possible today. We started off the morning with breakfast at Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles. You really can’t go wrong with a few drumsticks, waffles, and a side of grits (syrup and hot sauce distributed throughout, obviously). After being wheeled out of the restaurant in a food coma, we drove a “quick” 12 miles to Venice Beach.

After dropping our belongings of at the Airbnb, a mere 150 feet from the water, we set out to play some beach volleyball. For those that haven’t watched six semi-obese (mostly obese), out of shape, thirty-something males play volleyball, I can assure you that it’s comedic value makes it a must see event. The UCLA women’s volleyball team happened to be practicing on the court next to us, and I can assure you that they were not impressed.

After several short rallies and near ankle sprains, the crew is safely resting. Stay tuned for a summary of tonight’s adventures and a play by play from the tailgate lot.