USC goes from weird start to lousy end in 24-21 loss to Utah

Reporting from Salt Lake City —  A pass ricocheted off a USC receiver behind the line of scrimmage, bounced among confused players and was returned for a touchdown.

The Trojans’ record-setting quarterback left the game briefly after absorbing a violent hit.

And the starting left tackle sustained an apparent knee injury and was forced to leave the game against college football’s most productive pass-rushing team.

All in the first four minutes.

But No. 20 USC did not lose to No. 19 Utah on Saturday night because of its crazy beginning.

It lost, once again, at the end.

Utah quarterback Travis Wilson’s one-yard touchdown pass to Kaelin Clay with eight seconds left sent the Trojans to a 24-21 defeat before a delirious 47,619 spectators, the largest football crowd in the history of Rice-Eccles Stadium.

The play completed a 73-yard, 11-play drive and dropped USC to 5-3 overall and 4-2 in the Pac-12 Conference.

“We didn’t get it done, especially at the most critical moments,” Coach Steve Sarkisian said, adding, “That’s our season right now. We’re living and dying by these moments.”

USC fans are no doubt questioning several game-management decisions by Sarkisian and his staff.

The Trojans blew leads of 14-10 and 21-17, and might have squandered their chance of representing the Pac-12 South in the conference championship game.

“We’ve been part of stuff this season that I’ve yet to experience in coaching,” Sarkisian said.

USC freshman Adoree’ Jackson returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, quarterback Cody Kessler shook off a massive hit and passed for two touchdowns, and the defense forced two fumbles at the one-yard line, but that was not enough to stop a Utah team that improved to 6-1 overall and 3-1 in the Pac-12.

“We just need to learn how to finish,” said linebacker Su’a Cravens, a refrain repeated over and over by USC players as they exited their locker room. “We need to mature. We need to learn how to shut teams out.

“There were a bunch of opportunities where the game should have been over.”

Utah Coach Kyle Whittingham praised his players for the way they “hung in there and slugged it out for 60 minutes.”

If only USC could do the same, especially the final one or two.

A season that has included numerous off-the-field dramas, a last-second loss to Arizona State on a Hail Mary pass and a victory over Arizona that was only ensured when a kicker missed a last-minute field-goal attempt took another downward turn.

The Trojans head to Washington State next week with serious questions about how they will respond.

“You can’t point fingers,” Kessler said. “That’s something this team needs to realize -- that we’ve still got a long way to go and it will tear this team apart if we start blaming each other.”

Kessler, who passed for a school-record seven touchdowns last week against Colorado, completed 24 of 32 passes for 264 yards, with an interception, on Saturday.

He absorbed one major hit early in the game and was sacked on the final play.

The dramatic finish overshadowed what is becoming a trend of weird starts for USC when it plays the Utes here.

Two years ago, two botched snaps led to a USC deficit of 14-0 less than three minutes into the game.

USC came back to win that game, 38-28, but the Trojans were not counting on having to repeat that kind of effort on Saturday against a Utah team that was off to its best start since 2010.

But just as it did two years ago, USC’s first series went awry.

“It started with the second play of the game,” Sarkisian said. “I’ve never seen it happen before.”

On that play, Kessler threw a pass to receiver Darreus Rogers, who was a few yards behind the line of scrimmage and moving to his left. The ball bounced off Rogers’ upper body and skidded onto the turf, hitting receiver Robby Kolanz in the back of his legs.

Most players for both teams thought the play was an incomplete pass. But the officials did not whistle the play dead, and Utah cornerback Davion Orphey picked up the ball and sprinted toward the end zone.

Kessler gave chase but he could not stop Orphey, who crossed the goal line for a 7-0 lead.

“When it’s loud like that, you don’t really hear the whistle every time, but I thought everyone stopped,” Kessler said. “My instinct is we dropped the ball, incomplete, get ready for the next play.

“Next thing I know, I look over and the guy picks it up and starts running.”

USC suffered more setbacks on the ensuing possession. Kessler drove the Trojans to the Utah 22-yard line but he appeared to suffer a rib injury when defensive tackle Lowell Lotulelei crashed into him on a pass attempt. Kessler lay on the ground for several moments and then got to his knees and removed his helmet to catch his breath before he was helped off the field.

Sophomore Max Browne entered the game and had a pass into the end zone knocked away before Kessler returned a play later.

On the next play, left tackle Chad Wheeler appeared to injure his right knee and left the game.

Two plays later, Kessler connected with receiver JuJu Smith for a short touchdown that tied the score.

The Utes took the lead on a field goal before Jackson immediately erased it.

The freshman caught the ensuing kickoff about eight yards deep in the end zone and, after getting a sign from Smith to bring the ball out, eluded tacklers while dashing down the right sideline to the end zone for a 14-10 lead.

“I just saw everything part open,” Jackson said. “There were great blocks we practice in practice so it was just awesome.”

USC still led late in the third quarter when Clay returned a punt 51 yards to USC’s 16.

The Trojans appeared to avert disaster when Jackson forced receiver Tim Patrick to fumble at the one-yard line. But USC gave Utah another chance after Kessler threw a pass behind Nelson Agholor. The receiver tipped the ball and linebacker Jason Fanaika intercepted it.

Four plays later, running back Devontae Booker broke free for a touchdown run that caused fans to rock the stadium.

The Trojans came back to take a 21-17 lead on Kessler’s touchdown pass to Rogers early in the fourth quarter.

But Utah got one last chance when Agholor came up short on a fourth-down rushing play with just more than two minutes left.

That was all Wilson and Utah needed to send USC home in defeat.

Twitter: @latimesklein