USC Football: Game-by-game predictions for 2018

SANTA CLARA, CA - DECEMBER 01: Head coach Clay Helton of the USC Trojans looks on from the sidelines against the Stanford Cardinal during the Pac-12 Football Championship Game at Levi's Stadium on December 1, 2017 in Santa Clara, California. The Trojans won the game 31-28. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

3 of 14

(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

The second week of the college football season could feature a matchup with not only Pac-12 title implications but the opportunity to represent the conference in the College Football Playoff when Stanford and USC go head to head in Palo Alto.

These teams faced off twice last year with USC coming out on top. The first game was won pretty handily by the Trojans by a score of 42-24. Over 600 yards of total offense were racked up by the Trojans, as the backfield gashed the Cardinal defense with 48 carries and 307 yards.

The second meeting in the Pac-12 Championship Game was closer but featured more of the same as USC pounded the ball with 43 rushes. I expect that to be more of the same in this meeting, but it won’t be as effective as the Cardinal front seven will keep Stephen Carr under 100 yards on the ground.

The big question is whether KJ Costello can do enough to lead the Cardinal to victory. In his last matchup against the Trojans in the Pac-12 Championship, he did not play well finishing 10-for-22 for 192 yards. Going up against a more experienced and deeper secondary will lead to problems for the talented third-year sophomore, and I don’t expect him to lead them to victory.

Prediction: USC 27, Stanford 17 (2-0, 1-0 Pac-12)

Home/USC Trojans