The last conference game between historic rivals has arrived. No. 6 USC will take on Stanford for the final time in conference play at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum this Saturday.

From the renowned Pete Carrol-Jim Harbaugh rivalry in the late 2000s — which saw Carrol’s infamous “What’s your deal?” outburst — to the ferocious battles in the 1960s between Stanford quarterback Jim Plunkett and Trojan tailback OJ Simpson to the more recent clash between Trojan cornerback Adoree’ Jackson and Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey, this rivalry will be concluding for the foreseeable future. Come next year, USC will move to the Big Ten and Stanford to the ACC.

The Trojans have cruised to victories in their first two games of the season, beating San Jose State 56-28 and Nevada 66-14. Junior quarterback Caleb Williams has lived up to his preseason hype, going 36-of-49 with nine touchdowns and zero interceptions through about six-and-a-half quarters of football.

The reigning Heisman Trophy winner’s offensive game plan boiled down to one word.

“I’ve said it last year when we were here, and I’m saying it again — it’s consistency,” Williams said. “Especially early on, builds a lot of confidence.”

A handful of freshmen made a strong impact against Nevada last Saturday, with the highlight being a 71-yard touchdown pass from redshirt sophomore quarterback Miller Moss to freshman wide receiver Duce Robinson. Freshman rush end Braylan Shelby also impacted with a strip sack on the Nevada quarterback, while redshirt senior defensive tackle Stanley Ta’ufo’ou returned it for a touchdown. This was the Trojans’ first takeaway of the season.

“[The sack] felt amazing it felt good — especially with [Ta’ufo’ou] right there to go take it to the house,” said Shelby in a post-practice interview. “I knew it was going to be a pass, so I knew to jump the snap. I jumped it, I came around the corner and saw the ball hanging right there … so I reached and swiped it right down right into [Ta’ufo’ou]’s hands.”

Freshman wide receiver Zachariah Branch scored his second receiving touchdown of the season from a first-quarter pass from Williams and freshman running back Quinten Joyner had his first career touchdown.

“They’ve all, when they’ve gotten in there, had their moments to do some good things,” said Outside Wide Receivers Coach Dennis Simmons. “Obviously, we want to continue to create roles and opportunities for those guys to get out on the field.”

The Stanford Cardinal head into L.A. with an impressive 37-24 week one win over the University of Hawai’i. Picked to finish last in the Pac-12, the Cardinal and first-year Head Coach Troy Taylor want to prove the analysts wrong in Taylor’s inaugural season. Taylor went to Palo Alto from Sacramento State University, where he was known for a high-powered offense, going 30-8 in his four-year tenure. Taylor led Sacramento State to a berth in the Football Championship Subdivision quarterfinals for the first time in the school’s history.

“[Taylor’s scheme is] very adaptable. It’s fun to watch,” Riley said. “He does a good job in the mix of both the run and throw game. He throws a lot of looks at you.”

Stanford has been known for its power football with two or three tight-end formations and running the ball straight up the gut with former Head Coach David Shaw. Shaw stepped down in his 12th season as the Cardinal head coach as the winningest coach in school history. Defensive Coordinator Alex Grinch and Riley will have to adapt to this new-look Cardinal offense.

“It certainly is different,” Grinch said. “You’re used to the tight-end component and included in that would probably be a fullback, if you think about all of the personnel groupings you have to create in order to defend some of things they’ve done history with the McCaffrey’s of the world … when you’re watching it is still the use of the tight ends and the quarterback run game.”

The Trojan defense will need to search for senior tight end Benjamin Yurosek, as he led the Stanford offense last week in receiving, catching nine passes for 138 yards and one touchdown. The reigning All-Pac-12 second-team tight end had five catches for 45 yards last season against the Trojans.

“He’s elusive, man. He’s a good tight end,” said redshirt senior inside linebacker Shane Lee. “It’s just somebody else we have to account for and keep our eyes on throughout the game. They find creative ways to give him the ball and things like that.”

The Trojans will be without starting redshirt senior offensive lineman Gino Quinones for the remainder of the season, as he suffered a lower leg injury against Nevada.

“[I] hate it for him,” Riley said. “He’s really done an outstanding job to become a part of our rotation, a valuable member. He’s in good spirits. He’s going to fight back.”

The Trojans will look to start their final season in the Pac-12 with a perfect 1-0 conference record. A rivalry that has been going on since 1905, the Trojans will take on the Stanford Cardinal Saturday at the Coliseum at 7:30 p.m. one final time in the Pac-12 conference.