Written by Robert Henry
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The Arizona Wildcats are set to host the USC Trojans this Saturday, October 15th. The Trojans are coming into this matchup with back-to-back wins, with one of those wins coming against a ranked Colorado team. USC took the lead in the first quarter against the Buffaloes and would not give up the lead the rest of the game. The Wildcats are looking like the underdogs with their last win being about a month ago against Hawaii. They had a tough string of teams with Washington, UCLA and Utah all giving the Wildcats losses. The most recent loss was against the Utes this past Saturday losing by 13 points. These teams have battled it out many times and if history tells us anything this game will most likely be a win for the Trojans.
The Trojans are getting things back in the groove of former glory. With Sam Darnold at the helm the USC offense, they have been able to pull wins from tough teams. The redshirt freshman completed 25 of the 37 passes attempted for 358 yards and three touchdowns against the Buffaloes. JuJu Smith-Schuster and Darnold have been meshing extremely well together and other teams in the nation have noticed. The Trojans have other explosive weapons on offense with Daniel Imatobhebhe and Tyler Petite who were the recipients of all three touchdowns last week. Smith-Schuster did get targeted five times for 113 yards but Darnold couldn't float the ball into his hands in the end zone.
The pass game for the Trojans have been great the last couple of games but don't count out the run game. The run game may not be as explosive as other teams but it is enough to keep the opposing defenses on their toes. This allows USC to open up lanes for the run and can put the defense off balance for great passing plays.
The Arizona Wildcats have been plagued by injuries this season thus far and it has definitely taken a toll on their team. They lost Anu Solomon, J.J. Taylor, Nick Wilson and Brandon Dawkins. With these players out due to injuries the Wildcats have been struggling to keep up in the Pac-12. After Hawkins was hobbled off against Utah the freshman Khalil Tate got to see some snaps but couldn’t turn the game around. Combined, they only completed 16-of-28 passes for 348 yards two touchdowns and three interceptions. Even with poor passing, Trey Griffey was able to pull in 109 yards on only four catches. Although Griffey had a big game in the passing attack, Samajie Grant and Shun Brown were the ones who provided touchdown catches. Both of them combined got seven catches for 175 yards. The run game for the Wildcats was difficult for them to get going last week and it will be just as hard against the Trojan defense.
This match up on Saturday could be an upset if USC loses, but the fact the Arizona team is beat up and injured they will be looking at quite the uphill battle on the gridiron. The Trojans at this point have the better offense with Darnold controlling the pace and he has created some nice chemistry between himself and Smith-Schuster. USC also has the better defense with Iman Marshall and Adoree’ Jackson as cornerback the Wildcats will have a hard time passing the ball. All in all the USC secondary is one of the more feared in college football. Arizona does have one thing going for them and that's head coach Rich Rod is definitely capable of making the right plays to pull out a win. We will see if Arizona can be another reason for USC to be upset with their season. Or we can will see the Trojans win for the third week in a row.
The Trojans are getting things back in the groove of former glory. With Sam Darnold at the helm the USC offense, they have been able to pull wins from tough teams. The redshirt freshman completed 25 of the 37 passes attempted for 358 yards and three touchdowns against the Buffaloes. JuJu Smith-Schuster and Darnold have been meshing extremely well together and other teams in the nation have noticed. The Trojans have other explosive weapons on offense with Daniel Imatobhebhe and Tyler Petite who were the recipients of all three touchdowns last week. Smith-Schuster did get targeted five times for 113 yards but Darnold couldn't float the ball into his hands in the end zone.
The pass game for the Trojans have been great the last couple of games but don't count out the run game. The run game may not be as explosive as other teams but it is enough to keep the opposing defenses on their toes. This allows USC to open up lanes for the run and can put the defense off balance for great passing plays.
The Arizona Wildcats have been plagued by injuries this season thus far and it has definitely taken a toll on their team. They lost Anu Solomon, J.J. Taylor, Nick Wilson and Brandon Dawkins. With these players out due to injuries the Wildcats have been struggling to keep up in the Pac-12. After Hawkins was hobbled off against Utah the freshman Khalil Tate got to see some snaps but couldn’t turn the game around. Combined, they only completed 16-of-28 passes for 348 yards two touchdowns and three interceptions. Even with poor passing, Trey Griffey was able to pull in 109 yards on only four catches. Although Griffey had a big game in the passing attack, Samajie Grant and Shun Brown were the ones who provided touchdown catches. Both of them combined got seven catches for 175 yards. The run game for the Wildcats was difficult for them to get going last week and it will be just as hard against the Trojan defense.
This match up on Saturday could be an upset if USC loses, but the fact the Arizona team is beat up and injured they will be looking at quite the uphill battle on the gridiron. The Trojans at this point have the better offense with Darnold controlling the pace and he has created some nice chemistry between himself and Smith-Schuster. USC also has the better defense with Iman Marshall and Adoree’ Jackson as cornerback the Wildcats will have a hard time passing the ball. All in all the USC secondary is one of the more feared in college football. Arizona does have one thing going for them and that's head coach Rich Rod is definitely capable of making the right plays to pull out a win. We will see if Arizona can be another reason for USC to be upset with their season. Or we can will see the Trojans win for the third week in a row.