It’s always a test of will power when facing the Cardinal. As physical a team as they come, Stanford will separate the men from the boys. They defend home against the visiting Trojans on Sept. 10 at 4:30.
USC
Last week everything was hitting on all cylinders. The offense was unstoppable and the corners didn’t have much of a test against Rice. The Owls QB’s threw four picks and three of them were returned for a TD.
Sept. 6 after practice USC Head Coach Lincoln Riley talked about how cornerbacks Mekhi Blackmon and Ceyair Wright have been good for them. Blackmon is the steady hand and top corner, while Wright is the young and talented prospect the coaches like.
Riley’s excited for the upcoming test against the Cardinal and believes championship level programs win on the road. They aren’t intimidated by the hostile confines of the opponent’s home turf and they bring their best. Road games are like “gold”.
It will be tough though, Stanford’s a unique opponent. They play a very “old school” style of football and are set up like few college programs are.
“You’re gonna have to be clean in a run game. Obviously they present a lot of different challenges that way . . . we’ll need to be more consistent there. On top of it . . . you’re playing, you’re facing a really high level quarterback on top of them and so coverage has got to be sharp,” said Riley.
“Guys have got to do a great job getting pressure on them, it’s going to take a little bit of everybody and you gotta play great team defense against a group like this because they can they can obviously hurt you both ways.”
The Trojans want to run the ball, be physical and control possession like the Cardinal, however, they both do it for different reasons. Stanford does it because they want to play through their defense. USC does it to open up big plays from play action.
Football is a game about matchups, Stanford is a perfect match for USC. The Cardinal don’t have the personnel to handle the big play-action plays efficiently.
Next the Trojans return to Los Angeles for a matchup with Fresno State at the Coliseum.
Stanford
Last week Stanford dominated FCS program Colgate 41-10, this week is their first true test. Stanford is physically and fundamentally sound enough to compete against the Trojans. However, there’s a talent gap between both programs.
In order to beat this USC team, the opponent has to be able to keep up with them offensively. Stanford doesn’t have the offense to threaten the Trojans. The Cardinal want to run the ball and control the possession of the game. When the team is down by more than a score, they struggle to overcome the deficit.
Next the Cardinal travel to Seattle for a matchup with the Washington Huskies.
Make sure to continue to follow USC here at Gridiron Heroics, here’s an article about how the middle quarters propelled the Trojans’ to victory over Rice.
For More Great Football Content
Follow us on Twitter at @GridironHeroics for more great content. We appreciate you taking time to read our articles. To interact more with our community and keep up to date on the latest in Football news, JOIN OUR FREE FACEBOOK GROUP by CLICKING HERE
