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USC vs. Stanford, Pac-12 Championship Game preview, predictions, viewing info

By Nathaniel Reeves

LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 04: USC (14) Sam Darnold (QB) points to the sidelines during a college football game between the Arizona Wildcats and the USC Trojans on November 4, 2017, at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 04: USC (14) Sam Darnold (QB) points to the sidelines during a college football game between the Arizona Wildcats and the USC Trojans on November 4, 2017, at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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PALO ALTO, CA – NOVEMBER 25: K.J. Costello #3 of the Stanford Cardinal throws a touchdown pass to Trenton Irwin #2 during their game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Stanford Stadium on November 25, 2017 in Palo Alto, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
PALO ALTO, CA – NOVEMBER 25: K.J. Costello #3 of the Stanford Cardinal throws a touchdown pass to Trenton Irwin #2 during their game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Stanford Stadium on November 25, 2017 in Palo Alto, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

Keys for Stanford

The lead-up to this game will be all about outstanding Stanford running back Bryce Love, and his health will indeed be a major factor on Friday night. However, Stanford can’t rely on Love alone, meaning sophomore quarterback K.J. Costello will need to continue his strong recent form.

For a large portion of the season, the Stanford offense struggled mightily with Keller Chryst taking the majority of snaps under center. Chryst threw for 172 yards on 28 pass attempts in the first meeting for USC, which wasn’t enough to keep up despite a 160-yard performance from Love, and was finally benched following a miserable outing in an ugly 15-14 win at Oregon State on Oct. 26.

Since then, Costello has been solid under center with five touchdown passes to one interception, leading Stanford to wins over Washington, California and Notre Dame. Costello had his best performance of the season last weekend against the Fighting Irish, completing 14-of-22 attempts for 176 yards and four touchdowns. The Cardinal doesn’t need Costello to be brilliant with how its offense is set up, but all the better if he can match that performance.

Defensively, Stanford could have some issues due to USC’s superior speed and athleticism on the outside. The Cardinal will rely heavily on pressuring Sam Darnold behind a shaky offensive line that has dealt with a number of injuries this season and could use a monster day out of tackle Harrison Phillips in particular.

Darnold has been interception-prone at times this year and threw two picks in the first meeting against Stanford this year, something the Cardinal will hope to replicate. As always, Stanford will try to keep the USC offense off the field by controlling the clock with Love.

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