The Stanford Cardinal is looking to avenge last year’s home loss to the USC Trojans when it travels to the Coliseum. We review whether the Cardinal can return the favor in the USC vs. Stanford prediction and game preview.

USC vs. Stanford Prediction & Preview

Broadcast

Date: Saturday, September 19
Game Time: 8:00 ET
Venue: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (Los Angeles, CA)
Network: ABC

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Why You Need To Care

The long road to Santa Clara, site of the 2015 Pac-12 Championship Game, begins this weekend for USC and Stanford.

The Cardinal and the Trojans have visions of appearing in the league title game as the representative of the North and South, respectively. Troy, in particular, feels this is its year to bag some hardware. But what do we really know about a team that’s opened by obliterating overmatched Arkansas State and Idaho? Not a whole lot. However, answers will begin to surface about the Trojans’ ceiling now that Pac-12 play is beginning.

Stanford rebounded from its opening loss to Northwestern by handling UCF, 31-7, on the Farm. Still, the Cardinal has a long way to go before belonging in the same discussion as Oregon in the North. The loss to the Wildcats was so ugly that it reset expectations for a program that’s been declining of late. Beat USC on the road, of course, and the tone of Stanford’s season shifts dramatically in the span of three hours.

Why Stanford Will Win

The Cardinal is still the most physical team USC will see this season.

The results may be fluid on the Farm, but the approach has not. Stanford is still going to be bigger and stronger than most of the opponents on its schedule. And the new-look defense remains stout, yielding just two offensive touchdowns in the first two games. Led by linebackers Blake Martinez, Peter Kalambayi and Kevin Anderson, Stanford is going to hit USC harder and with more frequency than it experienced in the first two games.

Why USC Will Win

The quarterbacks are on different spectrums of the consistency scale, which means so too are the offenses.

The Trojans know exactly what they’re getting from Cody Kessler. The Cardinal with Kevin Hogan? Not so much. Kessler is the perfect triggerman for this kind of a game. Steady, seasoned and not about to be overcome by the stakes. He’ll get the ball in the hands of his playmakers, RB Tre Madden and WR JuJu Smith-Schuster, with a minimum of mistakes. Hogan remains a week-to-week mystery, further complicated by a running game averaging just 3.2 yards per carry.

Player Who Matters

For Stanford, everything comes down to Hogan. If he rocks, the way he did last week and at the end of 2014, the Cardinal has a shot. If not, USC will win going away.

Hogan will have a lot to overcome Saturday evening. Adoree’ Jackson and Kevon Seymour form one of the top corner tandems in the country. OLB Su’a Cravens will be everywhere, including covering the Cardinal tight ends. And interior linemen Antwaun Woods and Delvon Simmons are active gap-busters. If Hogan is going to beat the odds, he’ll have to beat a gifted defense that’s brimming with confidence right now.

What’s Going To Happen?

Stanford is built to be tough on everyone in the Pac-12. There are too many question marks on offense, though, for this team to entertain serious thoughts of a season-shaping upset.

USC will obviously have to grind more than it did in the first two games, and every point will be earned. However, once Kessler gets his team to 20 points, the win might be safe. Coordinator Justin Wilcox will devise a scheme that brings out the bad Hogan, forcing the maddening turnovers that have characterized the quarterback’s erratic career with the Cardinal.

USC vs. Stanford Score Prediction

Without further ado, the USC vs. Stanford prediction is …

Final Score: USC 30, Stanford 17

Must See Rating: 5: Republican Debate, Second Round – 1: Republican Debate, First Round … 4