Idaho Vandals vs. No. 8 USC Trojans
Many people expect the USC Trojans to contend for the national title this season as quarterback Cody Kessler is widely considered the top player at his position in the Pac-12, if not the nation. Opening the season with a 55-6 blowout over a lesser opponent doesn’t tell us much, but we do know that this team is hungry and they’re sick of all the talk.
Idaho, on the other hand, has won just three games since Nov. 5, 2011, and hasn’t won consecutive contests since October of 2009. Simply put, the Vandals are one of the least successful teams in college football land some may argue that they’re the easiest competitor to face in the FBS. They will have their hands full in this one.
Details for Saturday’s game are below:
Date: Sept. 12
Start Time: 8 p.m. ET
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Stadium: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
TV Info: Pac-12 Network
Live Stream: WatchESPN app
Radio: For the Idaho radio affiliate, click here. For the USC radio affiliate, click here.
Ticket Information: For Idaho ticket info, click here. For USC ticket info, click here.
Keys to Victory
Cody Kessler, Cody Kessler and, oh yeah, some more Cody Kessler. The senior quarterback has a chance to surpass the 10,000-yard mark for his career this season and go down as one of the most successful QBs in recent memory for the Trojans. In order for them to have success in any game this season, he needs to be on his game.
JuJu Smith, Tre Madden and Ronald Jones II — who was recently compared to Reggie Bush by Matt Leinert — will all need to help out and be Kessler’s supporting cast. Defensively, the Trojans need to do a heck of a lot better job stopping the Idaho offense which happens to be stronger than Arkansas State’s.
The Trojans’ defense was exploited in week one and the only key for the Vandals, that I can think of, is to take it to the air. The Vandals will need to pass the ball to wear down a struggling USC secondary that gave up about 200 passing yards to Arkansas State last week. That may not seem like much, but the Red Wolves controlled the clock.
Idaho’s run game won’t get the job done, as it garnered only 100 yards last week, and the Vandals won’t be able to stop the Trojans’ offense, so relying on Matt Linehan seems to be the only option.
Betting Odds
Point Spread: USC -43
Moneyline: Idaho 0, USC 0
O/U: 66.5
Prediction
This one will be ugly — guaranteed. The Trojans may have struggled a bit defensively last week, but, assuringly, head coach Steve Sarkisian has been running his players ragged trying to correct any wrongs that may have happened.
Idaho has no run game and it will probably struggle against the Trojans’ secondary, so this one is a lose-lose for the Vandals. Watch Cody Kessler just do what he wants with this defense and not feel bad about it.
Final Score: Idaho 3, USC 55
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