USC Football vs Western Michigan: Preview, predictions, TV channel
USC football and the Western Michigan Broncos face off for the first time ever in school history. Check out our preview for the Trojans’ season opener here.
The Heisman hype train starts here for Sam Darnold and the USC Trojans. First on the agenda for the Trojans is the Western Michigan Broncos, sans P.J. Fleck. Darnold did well after taking over the starting job less than halfway through the 2016 season. Now, fans will see how he fares with a full-year as starter. He doesn’t return much starting experience in the receiving corps but he hopes Ronald Jones III can offset all that at running back.
The Western Michigan Broncos lost their head coach to Minnesota but the good news for them is they’ve got a former alum as their new coach. Tim Lester, a former quarterback at Western Michigan, inherits a program that still has the talent to compete for a MAC title. They return 12 starters from last year’s 13-1 squad. After going 8-0 in the conference in 2016, anything can happen in conference play this season.
Here’s how you can watch Saturday’s USC vs. Western Michigan game:
Date: Saturday, Sept. 2
Time: 5:15 p.m. ET
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Venue: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
TV: Pac-12 Network
Live Stream: Pac-12 Live
Keys to Victory
The USC Trojans enter this game as the fourth-ranked team in the AP Poll, so obviously this one is their game to lose. There’s been a lot of criticism recently about Darnold’s accuracy and turnover problems. He can put those to bed, even if briefly, with a near-perfect passing game here. The Broncos will certainly be a good challenge, though.
The Western Michigan Broncos begin a new era without P.J. Fleck. His predecessor certainly knows what it takes to be successful with the program, he’ll just need those who remain to buy in along with him. Running back Jarvion Franklin should pace the Broncos’ ground game but he’ll need help from the receivers to be successful.
Next: Game by game predictions for USC in 2017
Prediction
The Broncos played the Wisconsin Badgers close all game long in their loss in the Cotton Bowl Classic 24-16. It was a defensive battle there, but the Trojans aren’t as tough as Wisconsin defensively. If Western Michigan can put consistent pressure on Darnold, they’ll have a chance, but they have a lot of question marks on offense. Expect Darnold and the Trojans to run away with this one.
Final Score: USC 42, Western Michigan 14