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USC Football: Trojans can sleepwalk through opener vs UNLV

By Justin Heisey

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)
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) /
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USC Football starts the season on a lighter note, opening against UNLV before a much tougher Week 2 test against Stanford.

The USC Trojans have made headlines on multiple occasions this offseason. Quarterback Sam Darnold declared for the NFL Draft and went top-ten to the New York Jets and appears to be the Week 1 starter. JT Daniels reclassified and made his way on campus only to be named the Week 1 starter in this matchup against UNLV. USC will look to improve from an inconsistent 2017 campaign that ended with a 24-7 loss to Ohio State.

UNLV’s offense shouldn’t have many problems this season. The Rebels return seven starters on offense including dual-threat quarterback Armani Rogers and 1,300+ yard rusher Lexington Thomas. The defense was very so-so last season allowing 31.8 yards per game last season and former-Florida linebackers coach Tim Skipper takes over as defensive coordinator to solve this problem. Their defense is very unproven, but an offense that finished 18th in rushing offense a season returns all the right pieces to wreak havoc in the Mountain West.

With all this being said, let’s talk week one football.

Date: Saturday, September 1, 2018

Time: 4:00 p.m. ET

Location: Los Angeles, CA

Venue: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

TV: Pac 12 Network

Live Stream: Pac-12 Network Live

Players to Watch

USC

  • QB, JT Daniels
  • RB’s, Aca’Cedric Ware, Vavae Malepeai, and Stephen Carr
  • WR’s, Amon Ra St. Brown, Tyler Vaughns, and Michael Pittman Jr.
  • NT, Brandon Pili
  • CB, Iman Marshall

UNLV

  • QB, Armani Rogers
  • RB, Lexington Thomas
  • WR’s, Kendal Keys and Brandon Presley
  • WLB, Gabe McCoy
  • FS, Dalton Baker

Keys to Victory

USC will debut JT Daniels this weekend and all they need him to do to win this game is to be as good as advertised and avoid making too many mistakes. Defensively, the Trojans need to prove that they can stop the run to some degree or the Rebels will feast all game long with their strong ground game. The secondary won’t have much to worry about with Armani Rogers’ inconsistencies as a passer but will be needed to make it difficult to open up the run game.

UNLV needs for Armani Rogers to progress as a passer first and foremost. USC’s pass defense finished 82nd in the FBS last season and Rogers must take advantage if they plan to upset the Trojans week one. Defensively, the Rebels have to make a stop. If they allow 30+ points to USC, they aren’t going to go home victorious, especially with a young quarterback who is out here to prove himself early.

Betting Odds

Courtesy of OddsShark

Points Spread: USC -35.5

Over/Under: 58.5

dark. Next. How to binge watch Week 1

Prediction

USC wins this one big. JT Daniels has impressed coaches since day one and I’m personally excited to see Amon Ra St. Brown go wild against an okay UNLV secondary. UNLV will garner some garbage time scores but won’t have a chance to win this game.

Final Score: USC 42 UNLV 14

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