No. 17 USC and No. 14 Stanford will meet for a heavyweight clash between two Pac-12 powers this Saturday after both teams had success in their respective first games of the season.
The Trojans beat Stanford twice last year, including in the conference championship game, but will the Cardinal snap their skid in this series? Or will USC upset the Cardinal?
The Trojans kicked off their 2018 campaign with a win, taking down the UNLV Rebels at home last week, 43-21. The final score fails to tell it, but USC had it tough in early in the game, as the Trojans trailed 14-12 in the second quarter. But once they got going, there was barely anything UNLV could do to stop them. It was like Sam Darnold and Ronald Jones didn’t leave USC.
Quarterback JT Daniels went 22-of-35 for 282 passing yards and a touchdown, while senior running back Aca’Cedric Ware went off for 100 yards and a touchdown on just 10 carries. The Cardinal allowed 150 yards to the San Diego State Aztecs last week, so Ware must be dreaming of another huge game this weekend.
As for their defense, the Trojans neutralized UNLV’s attack after the half, forcing the Rebels to resort to three punts and a fourth down incomplete drive in the first five possessions of the second half. The Trojans finished the 2017 season tied with Clemson for the most sacks in the nation with 46, and they are 41 away from matching that after taking down UNLV quarterback Armani Rogers five times.
The Trojans are 2-0 SU and 1-1 ATS in their last two games against Stanford.
Betting on the Stanford Cardinal (-6.0) / 1-0 Record)
The Cardinal offered a glimpse of how capable their offense is last week, when they downed San Diego State with ease, 31-10. And though the Cardinal lost both meetings with USC last season, they are the team that is returning their quarterback and a top-five rusher in 2017 in junior K.J. Costello and senior Bryce Love.
In the Aztecs game, Costello went off for 332 passing yards and four touchdowns (with an interception) on 21-of-31 completions. Love, meanwhile, didn’t impress much in his 2018 season debut, as he only had 29 yards on 18 carries for a horrendous 1.6 yards per attempt. But he’s Bryce Love, so that can be chalked up as one of those bad days even a prime Emmitt Smith experienced from time to time back in the day.
We also have to talk about wide receiver JJ Arcega-Whiteside, who almost single-handedly flattened the Aztecs’ secondary by going off for 226 receiving yards and three touchdowns on just six catches. Arcega-Whiteside is going to be a marked man by USC’s defense, so other guys like Colby Parkinson and Trenton Irwin will have to be step up.
The Cardinal are 4-1 ATS in their last five home games.
