USC Trojans

No. 10 Stanford hosts No. 17 USC in early Pac-12 showdown

Published Sep. 6, 2018 10:59 a.m. ET

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No. 17 Southern California (1-0, 0-0 Pac-12) vs. No. 10 Stanford (1-0, 0-0), 8:30 p.m. ET (Fox)

Line: Stanford by 3½.

Series record: USC leads 63-32-3.

WHAT'S AT STAKE

This is the first big matchup in the Pac-12 this season and a rematch of last year's conference title game won by USC. Both teams are contenders to make it back to the title game this year and don't want to fall in an early hole in the standings.

KEY MATCHUP

USC run D vs. Stanford RB Bryce Love. Last year's Heisman runner-up struggled in the opener for Stanford, getting held to 29 yards on 18 carries against a San Diego State defense poised to stop him. He might have more holes to run through this week against a Trojans defense that allowed 308 yards rushing last week against UNLV.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

USC: QB J.T. Daniels. The heralded freshman fared well in his debut against UNLV last week, throwing for 282 yards and a 43-yard TD to Amon-Ra St. Brown. The task gets much tougher this week against a more formidable Stanford defense.

Stanford: WR JJ Arcega-Whiteside. With the defense focused on Love, Arcega-Whiteside caught six passes for 226 yards and three TDs last week. That was his second straight game with three TD catches after also doing it in an Alamo Bowl loss to TCU last year.

FACTS & FIGURES

USC swept series last year, winning 42-24 at home in September and 31-28 in the conference title game. ... Stanford had won seven of eight in the series before last season. ... Game features brothers at WR with Amon-Ra St. Brown playing for USC and Osiris for Stanford. Amon-Ra's seven catches were the most ever by a USC freshman in a debut. ... Trojans RB Aca'Cedric Ware ran for 100 yards on 10 carries in opener. ... Love had 24 carries last season that went for more yards than his total in the opener. ... The Cardinal have scored in 149 straight games. ... Stanford QB K.J. Costello threw for a career-high 332 yards last week and has 13 TDs, three INTs in his past four games.

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