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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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LOS ANGELES, CA – NOVEMBER 18: Sam Darnold (14) of the USC Trojans hands off the ball to Ronald Jones II (25) of the USC Trojans during a college football game between the UCLA Bruins vs USC Trojans on November 18, 2017 at the Los Angeles memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Jordon Kelly/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – NOVEMBER 18: Sam Darnold (14) of the USC Trojans hands off the ball to Ronald Jones II (25) of the USC Trojans during a college football game between the UCLA Bruins vs USC Trojans on November 18, 2017 at the Los Angeles memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Jordon Kelly/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Keys for USC

Darnold garners most of the attention due to his lofty draft stock and was effective in the first meeting against Stanford, but the key for the Trojans offense is running the ball behind Ronald Jones II.

USC took it to the Cardinal in the trenches back in early September and completely controlled the action by running the ball a whopping 48 times for 307 yards. Jones led the way with 23 carries for 116 yards and two touchdowns, with Stephan Carr chipping in 119 yards.

Carr has been limited since late September with a foot injury, so the Trojans will be relying even more heavily on Jones II this time around. The Trojans can’t afford to get away from the run game this time around, as Jones II carried the ball a combined 26 times in USC’s two losses to Washington State and Notre Dame earlier this season.

That will take some of the pressure off Darnold, who picked the Cardinal apart by completing 21 of 26 passes for 316 yards and four touchdowns but would like to avoid the two interceptions this time around. Darnold will likely look for his favorite target Deontay Burnett often, as the speedster will pose a severe challenge to the Stanford defense with his ability in the open field.

The Trojans will likely stack the box against Love and need a huge game up front to slow down the likely Heisman finalist. USC’s defensive depth has been severely tested by injuries this season, and the Trojans will turn to leader Cameron Smith to fly around the field and stop Love on Friday night.

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