USC Football: 5 reasons the Trojans will beat Stanford for Pac-12 title

1. Sam Darnold will be motivated to head to the NFL as a champion

Redshirt sophomore Sam Darnold hasn’t made a final decision yet, but all signs point to him leaving college after this season. Projected among the top prospects in the country that are eligible to enter the 2018 NFL Draft, Darnold has a shot at landing the first overall pick depending on which team ends up with the selection.

Bolstering his draft stock, though, is just one of many things that will motivate Darnold to perform when he takes on Stanford in what may be his final Pac-12 game. When he faced the Cardinal in September, Darnold threw for 316 yards and four touchdowns on 21-of-26 passing. He did give up two interceptions, but otherwise had a near-perfect game.

After a rough start to the season that saw his Heisman dreams fly out the window, Darnold has been playing once again at a high level. He is completing a higher percentage of his passes than he did last season, with nearly 3500 passing yards in the dozen games of the regular season. The quarterback was a huge reason why USC won the Pac-12 South, and he has performed well on other big stages in the past.

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If he can avoid turning the ball over to one of the most dangerous defensive backfields in the country, Darnold is poised to have yet another big game. He gives USC a legitimate chance in every game that he plays, and the sophomore will hope to go out on top. If he plays like he has over the back half of the season, the Trojans will emerge victorious yet again in their rematch against Stanford.