Arizona State Football: Know Your Opponent- USC
Sep 28, 2013; Tempe, AZ, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils safety Shane McCullen (29) and safety Alden Darby (4) tackle USC Trojans wide receiver Marqise Lee (9) during the second half at Sun Devil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
Last week’s Top 15 matchup in Tempe between Arizona State and UCLA turned into a blowout very quickly. The Sun Devils had over 600 yards of offense, ran over 100 plays and yet still lost 62-27. The four turnovers and the inability to tackle anyone certainly didn’t help. Now, the Sun Devils must pick up the pieces and head to L.A. to face the USC Trojans. Last year, ASU destroyed the Trojans in the final game of the Lane Kiffin era. Now, USC is looking for revenge and a 2-0 start in the Pac-12. Let’s see how these two match up on Saturday at the L.A. Coliseum.
ASU Offense vs. USC Defense
Todd Graham made it official on Thursday when he said QB Taylor Kelly would not play on Saturday. This means Mike Bercovici will be making his second straight start. On paper, Bercovici put up some video-game like numbers (42-68, 488 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT) and played pretty well. He also had some costly throws and was the victim of some bad drops by the receivers. If ASU wants to have a chance against the Trojans, the running game will have to be more involved. D.J. Foster only had 3o yards rushing on 9 carries, so expect him to come out demanding the ball early. Kalen Ballage has shown to be a factor as well and the two backs will be looking to take advantage of a USC defense that gave up 400 yards rushing to Boston College. On the other side, the Trojans have a young, but talented defense. DE Leonard Williams and LB Hayes Pullard leads the way up front while sophomore safety Su’a Cravens is a big time playmaker. USC’s defense rebounded nicely last week against Oregon State. The question remains if they can keep it up.
ASU Defense vs. USC Offense
Ouch. That was the reaction of many Sun Devil fans who watched the young defense match up against the Bruins. 5 plays of 80 yards or more. 62 points. And tackling (or lack of it). It was a bad night all around for the Sun Devil defense but they have nowhere to go but up. They will face a USC defense that doesn’t have Marqise Lee but Nelson Agholor is an electrifying talent. The signal caller Cody Kessler is on a tear so far this year: 72% completions but more importantly, zero interceptions. He will lead a balanced attack as Buck Allen leads the ground game for the Trojans. Two freshmen to keep an eye on: receiver JuJu Smith and three-way player Adoree’ Jackson.
Prediction:
USC may be thin in terms of personnel, but they have a lot of talented players that will be sticking around for a couple of years. ASU’s defense will have to be ready to go and they will be able to put up a better showing on Saturday. Ultimately, the defense is still the big question mark and even though the offense will play well, it’s tough to go on the road and win shootouts. I have the home team squeaking out this one.
USC 34, Arizona State 27