Game of the Week

USC at #16 Stanford

Saturday, October 9^th (8:00 PM EST, ABC)

When USC has the ball: The USC defense has been consistently good this season. Led by sophomore QB Matt Barkley, the Trojans are 13^th in the nation in total offense (471.6 yards per game) and are the very definition of balanced offense (234 rushing, 237 passing yards per game). Quietly, Barkley (12 TD, 4 INT) leads the Pac-10 in passing efficiency, and has plenty of talented receivers to target downfield. What has killed the Trojans on offense has been penalties. As a team, USC ranks 117^th in the nation in yards penalized (409), an average of more than 80 penalty yards per game. For the Stanford defense, the goal will be to contain the running game, especially talented back Allen Bradford. The senior had a career game last week against the Washington defense, racking up 223 yards and 2 touchdowns. The numbers suggest that Stanford's run defense is suspect, but most of those yards were put up by Oregon last week...and Oregon can run on anyone. And Stanford has been very solid on third down, allowing opponents to convert first downs just 33 percent of the time. Look for USC to take to the air more often this week, in an attempt to keep Stanford honest.

When Stanford has the ball: If football games were just 15 minutes long, Stanford would have had a decisive victory last week over Oregon. The Cardinal looked dominant early, putting up 21 first-quarter points with Heisman candidate QB Andrew Luck marching the offense down the field with NFL precision. But Oregon made adjustments and limited the Cardinal to just 10 points from the 2^nd quarter on – and even kept them from scoring at all in the second half. Don't look for a repeat of last week. USC has really struggled on defense, especially in pass defense where opponents are averaging 288 yards per game. Luck should have a great day in front of his home crowd, hungry to rebound after the disappointing loss last week. To keep the Trojans from playing off the line of scrimmage, RB Stephan Taylor will get a good share of carries. He's been solid the last few weeks, with consecutive 100+ yard performances. But let's be clear – this is Luck's game to win.

Intangibles: Since the start of the 2008 season, Stanford is 12-2 at home.

Prediction: It's another offensive Pac-10 shootout...but this week it's Stanford that comes away with the win.

My pick: Stanford

Keep an eye on: The USC secondary. The Trojans secondary is young, and have shown their inexperience. But the talent is there...so it's only a matter of time before these kids start performing.

About to go Nuclear

Oregon

I shouldn't say ABOUT to go nuclear...they've been there all season. But this week should be a REAL offensive explosion as the Ducks face the soft Washington State defense. Can they score 70? Certainly.

Stat of the Week

230.8

Yards per game allowed by the Arizona Wildcats defense...good enough for 2^nd in the nation. The Wildcats will have a tough matchup this week as the Rodgers brothers and the rest of the Oregon State Beavers come to town.