Both USC and Stanford got the easy victories in their opening games of the season, but this Pac 12 matchup will certainly be a challenge. The Cardinals enter the game with the nation's longest win streak at 18 games as they get No. 14 USC at home. Steve Sarkisian started his tenure with the Trojans off with a solid start, but this will certainly be a big game to prove himself.
Sarkisian ended his Washington career by losing four of five matchups to Stanford. He would love to fix that stat with USC. His last game against the Cardinals ended in controversy. The head coach claimed Stanford was faking injuries in the final minutes of the game in order to hurt the Huskies' up-tempo offense. According to Sarkisian, he and David Shaw have put that behind them and are excited for this new matchup.
The Trojans got the win against the Cardinals last year, coming in as unranked to knock off the No. 5 team 20-17. This year's matchup will be a battle of the lines. Stanford has impressive left tackle Andrus Peat who will go face-to-face with defensive end Leonard Williams. They are both considered the best at their respective positions. Williams had an interception and seven tackles in last week's game against Fresno State. Peat is the anchor of the Stanford line, the only returning starter of the group. They allowed the Cardinals to put up 149 rushing yards on 32 carries against UC-Davis.
Kevin Hogan looked good at quarterback, throwing three first-half touchdowns. Ty Montgomery brought in one of those, catching five passes for 77 yards. Meanwhile the Trojans are riding high on Cody Kessler who threw for a career-high 394 yards and four touchdowns. He completed 25 of 37 passes. Against the Cardinals he tossed for 288 yards while guiding USC to a last-second field goal for the win.
