The Pac-12 South has come down to this weekend between Arizona and USC
On Saturday, The USC Trojans will face off against the Arizona Wildcats in what could be the deciding game in the Pac-12 South race. On one sideline, you have Sam Darnold at quarterback for the Trojans. He was being crowned as the next Heisman winner before the season started, No. 1 draft pick and possible national champion. Well, things have not gone according to plan, but they can still achieve one of their preseason goals, which was to win the Pac-12. To do that, they will have to find a way to stop Arizona sensation Khalil Tate, something no one has been able to do since the beginning of October.
Tate went to Serra High in southern California, which in recent years, has turned into basically a hotbed for USC talent. Tate took the place of a current Trojan, Jalen Greene. Greene was originally recruited as a quarterback but has since been moved to wide receiver. USC was recruiting Tate to be an athlete, but he wanted to stay at quarterback. When Helton became the head coach, he wanted Tate to stay at quarterback. But with watching what happened to his good friend, he did not want the same thing to happen to him, so he decided to not go along the same path. Another school wanted him to stay at quarterback and he liked that, so he stuck with it. He went to Arizona instead, and boy is Rich Rodriguez glad he did.
The Tate era in Tucson was not even supposed to have happened. If not for Brandon Dawkins getting hit late out of bounds against Colorado, this whole story might not currently be taking place. But, it did, and as fans, we’re all pretty excited that it has.
Since Dawkins got injured, Tate has been on an absolute tear. In the five games since the injury, Tate has had no less than 137 yards rushing, and he even broke away for 327 against Colorado — you know, that same game Dawkins was hurt in. So now, with Tate on absolute fire, the Wildcats are taking the Pac-12 by storm, now in a tie with USC for the Pac-12 South lead.
This weekend, we are going to see two of the best teams the Pac-12 has to offer. USC has definitely not lived up to the lofty preseason expectations, but they can still achieve something they have not done since 2008. Arizona has Tate, who has not been stopped yet. Tate has carried the Wildcats up to this point and does not look like he plans on slowing down anytime soon. Can USC’s defense slow down Tate, or at least keep him contained? Can Sam Darnold and company build off of their last performance in the desert? Saturday night, these questions will be answered.