If their regular season matchup was any indication how the Pac-12 Championship between No. 9 Stanford and USC will go, then we’re in for an explosive treat. The two teams engaged in a shootout in the regular season, combining for 72 points, 22 first downs and 901 total yards.
Forget defense; this championship game is all about scoring with both teams having plenty of weapons. Getting the victory is of utmost importance as the winner of this game represents the Pac-12 in the Rose Bowl, while the other would likely compete in a less prestigious bowl game.
The USC Trojans are in the Pac 12 Championship Game after a bumpy regular season, going 6-3 against conference foes. While the journey was difficult, the Trojans came all out in a big regular season finale against UCLA. USC beat the Bruins 40-21 in a complete overall performance.
[sc:NCAA240banner ]Senior quarterback Cody Kessler had just 167 yards passing, but threw a touchdown each to Darreus Rogers and Taylor McNamara. He added one score with his legs. With the passing game failing to get plenty of yardage, the Trojans used a solid ground attack with 235 yards rushing. Running back Justin Davis led the way with 130 yards on 25 carries.
Facing Stanford should have the Trojans utilizing their ground-and-pound attack some more. They’ll be taking a close look at how Notre Dame burned rubber against Stanford, rushing for 299 yards and two touchdowns on 35 carries (a whopping 8.5 yards per carry).
USC has a trio of running backs who could take advantage of Stanford’s wobbly run defense. Ronald Jones II leads the team with 890 yards rushing and seven scores. Davis is solid with 776 yards and five touchdowns, while Tre Madden has 450 yards and five scores on 84 carries.
The Trojans are also pretty solid on the other side of the ball. They’ll be looking to their pass rush to limit Stanford’s passing game. USC ranks second in the Pac 12 with 36 sacks this season. Leading the way are linebackers Suá Cravens and Porter Gustin with 5.5 and 4.5 sacks respectively. Defensive lineman Delvon Simmons and linebacker Scott Felix are a step behind each with four sacks.
The Trojans have won four of their last five games, but have gone just 2-3 ATS.
Betting on the Stanford Cardinal (10-2, 8-1 Pac 12)
It was a huge senior day for Stanford quarterback Kevin Hogan. He threw for 269 yards with four touchdown passes and drove the Cardinal to a game-winning field goal as time expired in a 38-36 victory over then-No. 6 Notre Dame.
The senior quarterback had another big day earlier in the season, completing 18 of 23 passes for 279 yards and two touchdowns on the road against USC. If the offensive line can keep Hogan upright, then the Cardinal have a big chance of winning the conference championship. Stanford has allowed the second-least sacks in the Pac 12 this season with just 18 sacks.
The Cardinal have a potent weapon with running back Christian McCaffrey. He’s the only player since 2012 with 3,000 all-purpose yards in one season. McCaffrey has 1,640 yards rushing and seven touchdowns, 435 yards receiving and three scores, 922 kickoff return yards, 38 yards on punt returns and 28 yards passing. He had 249 all-purpose yards in the Cardinal’s victory over USC earlier in the season.
Stanford ranks third in the Pac-12 in total defense this season, allowing just 376 yards per game. But they had some difficulty against USC in Week 3, allowing 427 yards of offense. The Cardinal will need their solid third-down defense to hold up if they are to hinder USC’s offense. Stanford ranks third in the conference in opponent third down conversions, stopping 63.03 percent of third down attempts.
The Cardinal have won five of their last seven against USC, but have gone just 3-3 ATS.
Writer’s Prediction
The Cardinal win the Pac-12 Championship. Take Stanford to cover -4.5. Create a betting account now and get action on all the conference championship games to come.
