1916: Utah Conquers USC in LA
The Utes beat the Trojans 27-12 in Los Angeles in 1916. Utah has not claimed a true road win in the budding rivalry series since that time.
Utah is mired in a drought more than a century in duration.
The Utes hit the road this weekend searching for their first true road victory over USC since World War I. Utah has had close calls in recent seasons but still has never won in the Coliseum. USC is favored to extend its home winning streak over the Utes.
105 years have passed since Utah last beat USC in Los Angeles. In 1916, the Utes earned their lone true road victory over the Trojans to date.
Going to California
College football was almost exclusively a regional sport before World War I. Travel by airplane and automobile was not commonplace in the early 20th Century, so virtually all college teams typically played teams exclusively in their home state or neighboring states. Pre-WWI schedules often featured a mix of college teams, high school teams, military teams, and teams from local athletic clubs.
When Utah traveled to Los Angeles to face USC in 1916, it was just the third trip that the Utes had ever made to the city. Utah's previous games against LA-based colleges had not produced favorable results.
The Utes first played in Los Angeles in 1907 and suffered an 11-5 loss to Loyola Marymount (then known as St. Vincent's College). They returned to the city in 1913 and went back to Salt Lake City with a 26-14 defeat to Occidental College.
1916 Triumph
Utah opened the 1916 season with a late October game against USC at Fiesta Park. The two teams met for the first time in Salt Lake City a year earlier and the Utes claimed a 20-13 victory.
Utah charged in front before halftime. The Utes jumped out to a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter on the strength of a relentless running attack.
USC cut the deficit to 14-12 early in the third quarter behind two big plays from Frank Malette. First, Mallette returned a punt 85 yards for the Trojans' first points before halftime. Then, he scored on an 80-yard run to make it a one-possession game.
USC never drew closer.
Utah wore the Trojans down at the line of scrimmage and scored a pair of insurance touchdowns in the fourth quarter to pull away for a 27-12 victory. The Utes would go on to win subsequent games against Colorado and Utah State and finish 3-2 that year. USC posted a 5-3 record.
Lowell "Dick" Romney ended up being the most valuable player for the Utes in securing the win. Romney scored touchdowns in the second and fourth quarter to lead Utah. He would later coach football at Utah State from 1919 to 1948, posting a 128-91-16 record in that span and leading the Aggies to four conference titles.