YAY Or NAY: The Trojans Are Ready for Prime Time
USC played on the road last week against the Arizona St. Sun Devils and came home with the 42-28 win, yet they didn’t look ready for extended periods. The Trojans again hit the road this weekend in Boulder Colorado for an early morning kickoff, so there’s no time for a late wake-up call.
Each Thursday before USC plays its next game, I like to offer up some Yay or Nay type of game predictions with a different and unique view for the fans who want to keep score.
The Trojans will keep the Buffaloes below 100 yards running the ball.
YAY. —
There’s a difference between a football and a basketball but I’m going for the layup from the tipoff.
When it comes to running the ball Colorado is ranked 132nd in the country averaging only 55 yards per contest. For contextual purposes, there are 133 FBS teams so things could be worse for Coach Prime Time. If the Buffaloes can’t locate its running game, they’re not going to be able to protect its quarterback against a defense that the Trojans are bringing.
“We’ve got to run the ball,” head coach Deion Sanders said this week. “Not only that, we’ve got to implement short and intermediate, as well as the deep passing game. But the main thing, you’ve got to protect your quarterback. I don’t care who you are, you’ve got to protect the quarterback.”
Collectively, the running backs have just 300 yards in four games, although the Buffs have only used its running backs with just 77 carries in four games.
Regardless of why Colorado’s run game trips and stumbles, the Trojans will need to keep the Buffaloes from finding one this Saturday.
Fun Fact: Going into this week, CU is last in the Pac-12 in rushing defense, allowing 206.5 yards per game. USC is 11th, allowing 136.5 yards per game.
USC will sack Shadeur Sanders 7 times.
YAY. —
In its first 4 games, the Trojans defense has sacked the opposing quarterback 16 times which is good enough to be tied for lead as the nation’s best. Sanders has been sacked 22 times so far through four games, and 7 times each in the last two.
Against Arizona St. USC’s defense had trouble tackling. However, as the game extended into the 4th quarter, all of the offseason conditioning and belief paid off. The Trojans finished their game with 8 sacks, 7 of those coming in the 4th quarter.
Defensive coordinators are always probing for weaknesses and Alex Grinch is no different.
It’s not a secret, that one of Colorado’s weaknesses is its offensive line production, or the lack thereof. Poor pass protection combined with a worse run game is a recipe for disaster against good defenses
Fun Fact: Out of 133 teams playing at the FBS level, the Buffaloes rank 132nd in the country with sacks allowed.
The Trojans defense will create multiple turnovers against Colorado.
YAY. —
Whereas the Trojans tackling prowess is still a work in progress, USC has still found a way to generate multiple takeaways in each of their last two games helping them lead the country with 8 forced fumbles. Creating takeaways is a huge part of Alex Grinch’s defensive philosophy as evidenced by last season when the Trojans led the nation in takeaways
One person’s perception is another person’s reality. So despite USC’s defense being considered a weakness, I found the following statistic Missed tackles and all, the Trojans still force their opponents into negative plays or turnovers on 17.1% of defensive snaps, which is good for the 3rd most in FBS trailing James Madison’s 17.9%, and Kansas at 17.8%.
Everyone is just waiting for USC’s defense to put together a complete 4-quarter game without periods of poor fundamentals that support their ability to take the ball away.
Fun Fact: The Trojans are 9-0 under Lincoln Riley when recording at least 2 takeaways
Colorado will pull off the upset.
NAY. —
Following their recent loss, Coach Prime Time’s squad is now trying to snap a 19-game losing streak vs. Top 10 Teams.
The Buffaloes are seeking their first win over an AP Top-10 team since 9/29/2007 when they beat No. 3 ranked Oklahoma 27-24 in Boulder. Now here come the Trojans led by Caleb Williams as the Buffs are on the back end of facing Top 10 teams in back-to-back weeks for only the 3rd time this century (2001, 2022, 2023) after playing Oregon last week.
Part of winning on the road means limiting your mistakes with penalties and turnovers. The No. 8 ranked Trojans are entering this contest as 21.5-point favorites, and since the start of last season, USC has averaged only 0.5 offensive turnovers per game, the fewest TO/GM in the FBS.
Fun Fact: The Buffs have 11 takeaways through 4 games this season which is good enough to be t-2nd in FBS), including 8 INTs and Caleb Williams has yet to throw an INT this season against his nation-best 15 TD throws.
Final Score; USC 58 Colorado 24
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