No. 6 USC has a Week 2 home date with Stanford at the Coliseum in what serves as the final showdown between the Trojans and Cardinal as Pac-12 members. Following this year, USC heads to the Big Ten, while Stanford recently accepted an invitation to join the ACC. Both programs join their new leagues in 2024.
USC is coming off a 66-14 blowout win over Nevada in which star quarterback Caleb Williams threw for 319 yards and five touchdowns before all of the Trojans starters were removed from the game in the second half. The Trojans were one of two top-10 teams (the other being Notre Dame) in action during Week 0 and beat San Jose State 56-28.
Stanford defeated Hawaii 37-24 on the road in the first game of Troy Taylor's tenure as coach in Week 1. Taylor was hired this offseason to replace longtime coach David Shaw, who stepped down following the end of the season. The Cardinal are in the midst of a rebuild and have failed to win more than four games in a season since 2018. The first matchup between USC and Stanford occurred in 1905 and they have been playing regularly since 1919 with USC leading the all-time series 64-34-3.
USC vs. Stanford: Need to know
USC's offense is as expected, defense is TBD: The USC offense is averaging 61 points through two games this season. It's not a large sample size, but what will ultimately determine if the Trojans take the next step as a legitimate national championship contender is whether the defense steps up to slightly above-average levels. After allowing nearly 400 yards and 28 points in the opener to San Jose State, the USC defense looked improved against Nevada. It held the Wolf Pack to just over 200 yards before garbage time while scoring its first defensive touchdown of the season on a strip sack in the fourth quarter. Nevada will likely finish as one of the worst teams in the Mountain West this season, but the defense certainly showed signs of life. The USC offense will be good enough to win any game this season, but the defense will remain a question mark until the Trojans prove they can contain a high-powered offense.
Taylor has his starting quarterback: It was a three-way battle in fall camp for Stanford's starting quarterback job between Ashton Daniels, Ari Patu and Syracuse transfer Justin Lamson. Taylor went with Daniels, and in his first college start he went 25 of 36 for 248 yards with two touchdowns. Daniels is a great fit for Taylor's offensive system that put up huge marks at Sacramento State last season.
One final Pac-12 battle: There have been six times during the last century that USC and Stanford haven't played. The most recent was in 2020 during the COVID-19-shortened season and the most notable was between 1943-45 when the two programs didn't play during World War ll. Saturday will mark meeting No. 102 between the programs and will be the last for the foreseeable future. USC already has Notre Dame locked in as a future nonconference opponent, so finding time to play this game again could be difficult.
How to watch USC vs. Stanford
Date: Saturday, Sept. 9 | Time: 10:30 p.m. ET
Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum -- Los Angeles
TV: Fox | Live stream: fubo (Try for free)
USC vs. Stanford prediction, picks
USC's defense still has major question marks despite the improvement showed against Nevada. Stanford's offense will be the best unit they have faced so far this season and Taylor has shown he can unlock a team's best. Stanford scored 37 points in Taylor's first outing, which was the most the program had scored against an FBS opponent in almost two years. There are going to be a lot of points scored on Saturday, and even though the over (69.5) is enticing, Stanford with the points is the safer play. The Cardinal played USC tough last season and should be able to put up enough points to cover. Pick: Stanford +29
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