Can USC break Utah coach Kyle Whittingham's unbeaten opener streak?

Utah coach Kyle Whittingham is unbeaten in home openers.

With two wins already tallied, the undefeated USC Trojans hit the road to face the Pac-12 South defending champion Utah Utes, a team yet to play because of a COVID-19 outbreak. 

Utah is 11-0 when opening a season at home in the Coach Kyle Whittingham era, while USC has suffered three-straight losses in Salt Lake City.

Is this the year the Trojans can break the streak? With an Utah victory, the Utes will have won 13-straight season openers dating back to 2008. No shade to coach Whittingham, as that is an impressive streak, but the Utes have not played opened vs. a Pac-12 Conference team during that stretch. 

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As reigning Pac-12 Coach of the Year, Whittingham is the longest-tenured coach in the Pac-12 Conference and the third-longest tenured head coach at the same school in the NCAA FBS. He is in his 16th season at the helm at Utah in 2020... Which is a season proving to be full of unpredictability.

The Utes are the only remaining power Five team yet to play this season. Utah's first two games of the season were canceled, both of which came on the day before the Utes were scheduled to play.

Whittingham is optimistic USC can take the field vs. USC on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. MT. The Trojans are preparing for the Utes while staying ready to adapt. Good news is the Utes practiced on Monday and Tuesday. 

"You might expect the players' spirits to be a little down because of the disappointment the last couple of weeks, but that is not the case," Whittingham said. "They are eager and ready to go. Like I said, we had a very productive practice yesterday and we will get back out on the field today. Things are trending in the right direction for us as far as getting back to health and getting guys back out on the practice field."

After this trip, USC stays in the Southern California area for its final three games of the announced 2020 schedule. 

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