The Cardinal Come Rollin' In

Week by week, it doesn't get any easier for the Trojans. And this week they face a hot Stanford Cardinal team that just finished beating the #8 Oregon Ducks (who of course, spanked SC a few weeks ago.)

So all is lost, right? Not exactly. Stanford is tough at home (5 - 0), but not so much on the road (1 - 3). Their defense is the main culprit, as the Cardinal give up twice as many points on the road (35ppg) vs. only (19ppg) at home.

So as the Cardinal roll into the Coliseum, it's time for the USC Trojans to put together a great effort in all (3) aspects of their game - offense, defense and special teams.

It's go time!

Stanford

Offense - RB Toby Gerhart is the heart and soul of the Cardinal offense. He's leading the Pac 10 in rushing, and is a tough back with surprising foot quickness. But the player who has taken Stanford's offense to the next level is redshirt frosh QB Andrew Luck who leads the conference in passing efficiency completing nearly 60% of his passes with 11TDs and 3 INTs. He's also good with the deep ball, and can scramble a little bit when he gets out of the pocket. WR Chris Owusu is a deep threat in the passing game with 5 TDs, and he's also a terrific kickoff returner with (3) TDs on the season.

Defense - If there's a weak link in Stanford's game, it's the defense which ranks 8th in the Pac 10. They've given up some big rushing yardage to the better teams they've played due to an undersized defensive line. Also, the Cardinal lost the captain of their defense MLB Clint Snyder for the season due to a knee injury just this past week.

USC

Offense - QB Matt Barkley and the Trojan offense are looking to bounce back from a rough game last week that saw them only put up (7) pts. And even though SC will miss WR Damian Williams who's out due to injury, the return of FB Stan Havili and TE Anthony McCoy should help them get back on track. The running game tandem of Joe McKnight and Allen Bradford will play an important part in this game, behind a Trojan OLine which should have an advantage against a smallish Cardinal front (7).

Defense - The entire defense will be tested this week as the Cardinal can run and pass the ball with efficiency. The matchup to watch is the Trojan Dline vs. the Cardinal Oline which has only given up 6 sacks this season, and paved the way for 211 yards rushing per game. Safety Taylor Mays and the Trojan DBs will need to remain alert, because Stanford gets defenders thinking "run", and all of a sudden is passing downfield.

Prediction:

USC - 27

Stanford - 14