Stanford football looks to make early-season statement vs. USC
USC and Stanford football face off in one of the most important matchups in the Pac-12 this season. Can the Cardinal get revenge and make a statement?
The USC Trojans and Stanford Cardinal face off in one of the most important matchups in the Pac-12 this season. This game will have conference championship implications, and affect the college football playoff race as well.
Stanford comes in after a big win over San Diego State and will look to build that momentum against the Trojans. Their Heisman Trophy candidate Bryce Love did not perform up to his normal expectations and would love to bounce back against the Trojans defense.
The Trojans have a freshman quarterback that fans are raving about in JT Daniels. Daniels looked very good in the win against UNLV and finished the game 22 for 35 for 282 yards and a touchdown.
Aca’Cedric Ware also looked dominant on the ground with 100 yards and a score on 10 carries.
What can we expect from this game? Let’s take a look at some of the details heading into this contest.
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Date: Saturday, Sept. 8
Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
Location: Stanford, Calif.
Venue: Stanford Stadium
TV: FOX
Live Stream: FOX Sports Go or FuboTV
Keys to Victory
Can the Stanford offense have a balanced attack against USC? With Love playing so poorly we saw the emergence of JJ Arcega-Whiteside. The talented receiver grabbed six passes for 226 yards and three touchdowns in one of the best offensive performances of the weekend.
In order for Stanford to come out with the home victory, Love will need to play at his best and run for over 125 yards with Arcega-Whiteside contributing a touchdown.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Cardinal will have to contain JT Daniels and get him into passing situations that he will be uncomfortable with. The Stanford front seven will have to dial-up a couple of blitz packages early to rattle him and get the offense out of sync.
Last year you could have said the Trojans number one key to winning the games against Stanford would have been to stop Bryce Love. Can Stanford pull out another victory if he performs poorly? It’s possible but unlikely so the defense will need to load up the box and force Stanford to beat them through the air.
When USC is on offense the smart play would be to mix in a few read options early to keep the defense guessing and take a few shots in the play-action game down the field. If the Trojans jump out to an early lead I don’t think Stanford will be able to get back into the game.
Betting Odds
Courtesy of OddsShark
Line: Stanford -6
Over/Under: 56.5
Prediction
The Stanford passing attack was very surprising to see you last week but I’m not expecting more of the same for this contest.
Bryce love will put up respectable numbers but I think the USC defense will keep Stanford under 20 points.
They are being overlooked as one of the potentially best defenses in the country and they have a lot of talent in the secondary. Don’t expect Arcega-Whiteside to make much of an impact in the second half.
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The offense will continue to put up the balanced attack we saw in Week 1 and USC should pick up a hard-fought victory against their Pac-12 foe.
Prediction: USC 31, Stanford 18