Stanford poses USC’s first real test


Much to every Trojan fan’s delight, the 2015 squad has started the season with two statement wins by a difference of 49 and 50 points. The team has looked good as a unit and Cody and JuJu have both set career records only two games into the season. The Trojans are riding a huge wave of momentum heading into Saturday’s game against Stanford, but need to be careful not to repeat the outcome of the 2012 season.

Circumstances are eerily similar to USC’s 2012 demise. No. 2 USC headed to the Bay Area to face the Cardinal in the third game of the season after two dominant wins over Hawai’i and Syracuse. Matt Barkley and a Trojan team that had received so much preseason hype fell to      No. 21 Stanford and went on to finish the season 7-6 overall and 5-4 in the Pac-12.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think that will happen again, and I think this year’s team is a far cry from 2012 — but that doesn’t mean a conference rival should be overlooked. In fact, the following season it was Cody Kessler and an interim head coach who upset the No. 4 Cardinal and dashed their hopes of a national title.

Cody Kessler, who is looking to go 3-0 against Stanford, has never looked better. He had a career-high 410 yards against Idaho. He completed 26 of 31 passes and had three touchdown passes on the night. He even showed improvement on his deep balls, something he struggled with against Arkansas State, opening the game with a 50-yard touchdown pass to JuJu. Kessler is currently the only quarterback in college football with at least seven touchdown passes to no interceptions.

Cody’s favorite target JuJu also had a career night against Idaho. Smith-Schuster had 10 catches for 192 yards and two touchdowns of 50 and 41 yards. Tre Madden and Justin Davis each scored two touchdowns as well.

Seemingly hiding in the shadow of such an explosive offense, the Trojans’ defense has held Arkansas State and Idaho to six and nine points, respectively.

All of the above information should be taken with a grain of salt, however, as USC has hosted two Sun Belt teams. Stanford, though currently unranked, will be USC’s first real test this season.

Unlike USC’s 49-point win, Stanford opened its season with an upset  to Northwestern. Northwestern is 2-0 and has now cracked the top 25, coming in this week at No. 23, but the Cardinal offense looked abysmal, putting up only six points and failing to score a touchdown.

If this wasn’t a conference rivalry game, this matchup would probably have very little significance to anyone other than the two teams playing, and even then most people would probably just use it as an excuse to tailgate and then leave after the first quarter. But this is Stanford and USC, and as I was writing this sentence, ESPN aired a preview for the game.

The fact is, this is a rivalry game with national significance. Even though USC has handed the Sun Belt conference a beating thus far, this is the Pac-12 and anything can happen.

Regan Estes is a junior majoring in public relations and Spanish. She is also the sports editor of the Daily Trojan. Her column “Wild Wild Westes,” runs Tuesdays.