USC Football: 3 bold predictions for Pac-12 title game vs. Stanford

2. Sam Darnold throws two interceptions

Sam Darnold is a polarizing figure. Pundits either think the Trojans’ passer is going to be the first overall draft pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, or they think he’s a complete flop in the vain of Mark Sanchez and Matt Leinart. There’s reason for both opinions.

The 6-foot-4, 220-pound California-native has shown flashes of NFL talent. Darnold can make the prototypical NFL throws like the 15-yard out, and he doesn’t hang his post up there deep and over the middle. Where he becomes mind-boggling is when he throws two interceptions against Western Michigan, or can’t score against a weak UCLA defense.

The shine comes off a player when they fail to play big in big games. For instance, against the Washington State Cougars, Darnold threw no touchdowns, an interception and averaged 5.6 yards per passing attempt. The USC Trojans lost and it was a major upset victory for the Cougars. He tossed another interception against the Fighting Irish in another loss.

Losing big games and throwing twelve interceptions is a rough way to head into your ‘contract year’ as a college football quarterback. Darnold will have to wow the scouts in his interviews and at individual workouts to beat out fellow Los Angeles quarterback Josh Rosen for the top pick in the NFL Draft in 2018.

I can see Darnold throwing two interceptions against the Stanford Cardinal defense that’s not what we usually think of the Cardinal defense. Stanford’s defense is ranked 51st by the S&P+, a far cry from what we’ve grown to expect.