USC had to sit and stew on a heartbreaking loss.

The Trojans’ first defeat of the season came in the final minute of its Oct. 15 matchup with Utah, and it came by a single point. Utah quarterback Cameron Rising led a touchdown drive and capped it with a go-ahead two-point conversion with just under 50 seconds to play to deliver the Utes a 43-42 win.

Then USC went on its bye week.

The Trojans return to the field on Saturday against Arizona in Tucson. Sometimes going on the road can galvanize a group. You’re all you’ve got. You’ve got no choice but to rise up against adversity. And quarterback Caleb Williams says USC is itching to fight back.

“We got punched in the face,” Williams said of the Utah loss. “We’re going to get back up and punch somebody else in the face.”

Williams thought there was a confidence level in the visitor’s locker room at Rice-Eccles Stadium after the loss. Leaders said immediately after the game they were ready to go right back out on the field.

“We were all sad and a little hurt about it, obviously, but there was a certain confidence. A certain swagger was in the locker room afterward even though we lost,” Williams said. “You might have been able to see that in us three that were up there on the podium right after the game. What you saw on the podium is what was in the locker room. That’s why we came out so strong.”

USC still has all of its season-long goals ahead of it. The College Football Playoff is still within reach. One loss does not take it out of the running for the Pac-12 title game.

A bye week, a matchup with one of college football’s leakiest defenses in Arizona (4 p.m. PT, Pac-12 Network), the makings are there for No. 10 USC to catch its second wind after opening the year in such strong fashion.

“We’ve got a run to make,” Williams said. “And it’s going to be pretty awesome.”