Pac-12 Football: Five things learned in Week 2

Sep 12, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Southern California Trojans players celebrate after the game against the Idaho Vandals at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

3. USC and UCLA Are Headed For A Monumental Collision

In Week One, the UCLA Bruins and their freshman quarterback Josh Rosen lived up to the hype of the pre-season, pasting the visiting Virginia Cavaliers, 34-16, in a game that was not as close as the score. Rosen looked terrific in that contest, and while he personally struggled a bit against the UNLV Rebels, the team did not. Rosen went just 22/42 for 223 yards, but the Bruins smothered the Rebels and won easily, 37-3.

Meanwhile, not that far away, the USC Trojans were destroying the Idaho Vandals, 55-9. The first quarter was all Trojans, with USC scoring 21 unanswered points and setting the tone for the rest of the contest. While the Arizona State Sun Devil’s struggled to stop the running game of the Cal Poly Mustangs, the Trojans showed how things are supposed to be done. The Vandals ended the game with just 71 yards rushing on 32 attempts, a pathetic 2.2 yards per carry average.

At halftime it was 38-3, and USC had 434 yards of offense. The game was over and the starters rested in the second half, cheering on their less talented teammates. These two teams are the class of the South division, and that November 28th game is looming as one of, if not the biggest contest of the season in the Pac-12 conference. There is chance two undefeated teams could be battling it out for a chance to play in the conference championship game.

UCLA should be favored in every game until that point, while USC does have a couple of tough ones against Notre Dame and Oregon. Nevertheless, that match-up is shaping as hugely important in not just the conference standings, but perhaps in the College Football Playoff rankings.

Next: Utah's Quarterback Play Is Still Hurting The Team