The Bradford lob. The Luck pick-six. The Nunes scramble.
Few rivalries in the last six years of college football have been as thrilling as the rivalry between Stanford and USC. From a historic upset to a triple-overtime thriller to a memorable postgame exchange at midfield, Stanford-USC has seen it all.
Though No. 4 Stanford (8-1, 6-1 Pac-12) has dominated the series lately by taking five out of the last six contests and winning three in a row at the Coliseum, the last three games between the two teams have been decided by eight points or fewer.
So it only seems fitting that after beating Oregon in one of the biggest wins in school history, the Cardinal’s biggest roadblock to its second straight Pac-12 North title is a battle with the Trojans (7-3, 4-2) — a battle that will be played out tomorrow night in front of a sold-out Coliseum crowd and attended by ESPN’s College GameDay crew. The storyline has completely flipped from what it was just six years ago: A Stanford team with everything to lose hopes to avoid a letdown against a USC team with nothing to lose.
Even amidst the pressure, the Cardinal wouldn’t have it any other way.
“It’s going to be exciting,” said head coach David Shaw. “The crowd will be into it. This is a big game for both teams in respect to where we are in the conference. You go down there and expect everything. You expect it to be wild and crazy, and you expect it to come down to the end of the game.”
“[USC] always just seems to play a really good game against us,” added senior defensive end Henry Anderson.
Earlier in the season, the Men of Troy under Lane Kiffin seemed to be headed toward disaster after losing to Washington State at home and getting pummeled by Arizona State in the desert. But after USC athletic director Pat Haden gave Kiffin the red slip and appointed the fiery Ed Orgeron to interim head coach, the Trojans have come back from the dead with four victories in five games and become one of the best — if not the best — unranked teams in the country.
The Trojans defense has been at the heart of the team’s resurgence.
Headlined by outside linebacker Devon Kennard and defensive end Leonard Williams, USC’s front seven has given up just six rushing touchdowns all season. The Trojans run defense (112.5 yards per game) is the second stingiest in the Pac-12, behind only Stanford’s unit (98.4 yards per game). While inside linebacker Hayes Pullard leads the team in tackles, it’s been Williams and Kennard who have consistently ended plays in the backfield by combining for 13.0 sacks and 21.0 tackles for loss.
“[USC’s] defense is very good,” said fifth-year senior right guard Kevin Danser. “Their defensive line is outstanding. They’ve got a bunch of great athletes there. Their linebackers are also very impressive.”
Danser and the Cardinal offense rediscovered their identity last week against the Ducks in a season-best performance that allowed senior running back Tyler Gaffney to bruise his way to 157 yards on a school-record 45 carries and gave junior quarterback Kevin Hogan enough time to make plays with his feet at the most critical times. In what should be an interesting subplot, Gaffney will try to accomplish the rare feat of scoring in three different road games at the Coliseum.
On the other side of the ball, the Trojans offense has made considerable strides after its embarrassing futility at the start of the season. USC boasts two of the nation’s most dangerous players, wide receivers Marqise Lee and Nelson Agholor, on the perimeter. Lee remains a dangerous big-play threat even with new quarterback Cody Kessler under center, while Agholor is coming off two punt-return touchdowns against Cal and putting up some staggering numbers, including his 18.0 yards per reception. And while Kessler is still inexperienced, his efficiency has improved drastically since Orgeron took over.
“[Kessler] is a good game manager,” Henry Anderson said. “They’ve got some really good talented running backs. They’ve kind of shoveled around the offensive line a bit from last year.”
The Trojans will have to make do without their three-headed rushing attack, as tailback Silas Redd is will most likely mis tomorrow’s game. However, running back Tre Madden is expected to suit up while halfback Javorius Allen has proved to be more than capable so far this season by averaging nearly eight yards per carry.
“We always take [USC] very seriously,” Danser said. “We always want to be — as we call it — the kings of California. That’s something we take pride in.”
Stanford looks to take another step towards defending its Pac-12 title when it squares off against USC at the Coliseum tomorrow. Kickoff is slated for 5 p.m., with national television coverage on ABC.
Contact George Chen at gchen15 ‘at’ stanford.edu.