USC Football vs. Arizona: Preview, predictions, live stream

Last year, USC football made a quarterback change and charged ahead to the Rose Bowl. Arizona is hoping to do the same this season.

The two teams meet in a Pac-12 South collision Saturday night led by explosive quarterbacks Sam Darnold and Khalil Tate. A quick look at the offensive leaderboard shows Darnold and Tate like to get the job done differently.

Darnold, who many believe will be the top pick in the NFL Draft when he elects to leave school, has thrown for 2,558 yards with 20 touchdowns this year. Tate, who took over the starting job from Brandon Dawkins this year, has thrown for 784 yards and six scores, adding another 926 and eight on the ground.

Arizona (6-2, 4-1 Pac-12) has won four in a row since a six-point loss to Utah in September, topping Colorado, UCLA, California and Washington State most recently. They are averaging 45 points per game and 523 yards of total offense behind Rich Rodriguez and company.

Southern Cal (7-2, 5-1 Pac-12) enters after defeating Arizona State last week, 48-17, to get back on track following a 49-14 loss to Notre Dame the week prior. They are averaging almost 34 points and 476 yards of offense.

Combined, though, both teams are struggling to stop anybody. The Wildcats allow 30 points per game and the Trojans sit at 26. They are also surrendering 449 and 395 yards of offense, respectively.

Here’s how you can watch Saturday night’s Arizona-Southern Cal contest:

Date: Saturday, Nov. 4
Time: 10:45 p.m. ET
Location: Los Angeles
Venue: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
TV: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN

Keys to Victory

Tate, a sophomore from Inglewood, California, just might be the most ideal fit for a Rodriguez offense ever. Over his last four games, he has thrown for at least 148 yards and rushed for at least 137 in all of them.

Back on Oct. 7 at Colorado, Tate completed 12 of 13 for 154 yards and rushed for 327 yards with four touchdowns. Most wondered if he could keep that kind of production up, and he has.

Against UCLA, Tate had 148 yards passing, completing 9 -of-13, with 230 yards on the ground. He completed 10 of 15 for 166 with 137 yards rushing vs. California and had a career-high 275 yards passing vs. Washington State last week, adding 146 more yards on the ground.

Despite playing in just four-plus games, Tate leads the Pac-12 in rush yards and has eight touchdowns.

The Trojans have the horsepower on offense to match Tate, but they might want to give Darnold at least a chance to gain the upper-hand. The talented sophomore has struggled a bit with turnovers, throwing 10 interceptions, but has posted four games of 300 yards passing this year and has at least three touchdowns in five games – including three of his last four.

If neither defense can get a stop, we could be in for quite the old-west shootout with some “Pac-12 After Dark” thrown in.

Prediction

Tate and Darnold will definitely know the spotlight is on and we can expect an offensive thriller in this one. Tate has thrown a pick in each of his last two games, and you can bet the USC defense will be looking to confuse the youngster.

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As mentioned, Darnold has also struggled with interceptions, but he has thrown just one in his last three games after throwing six in the first three of the year. Southern Cal will also try to keep the ball out of Tate’s hands by utilizing the running skills of Ronald Jones II who had 216 yards and two scores last week.

Prediction: USC 58, Arizona 52