Would USC fans love a blowout win at Stanford on Saturday? Sure they would. Being able to dump-truck a Pac-12 opponent, especially one year after Stanford crushed USC in the Los Angeles Coliseum, would be pretty satisfying. You wouldn’t get many complaints from Trojan fans if that’s the scenario which unfolds on The Farm this Saturday evening on national television.
However, if one was to envision a more likely scenario for this game, let’s be honest: Stanford will probably land a few punches in the first half against USC’s suspect defense. The idea that USC will limit Stanford to 14 points the same way it held Rice to 14 points is not something to trust or expect. Stanford should be able to score at least 24 points if not more.
Guess what? That would be good for USC — not in the sense that the defense will continue to show its flaws, but good in the sense that this team needs to see that it has a lot of work to do in order to become a better, more complete product. USC needs to enter the Fresno State and especially Oregon State games with humility. That is less likely to be the case if the Trojans annihilate Stanford on Saturday.
Give me a game in which Stanford plays a strong first half, and USC has to make adjustments at halftime. Give me a game in which USC has to solve problems in the second half … and is able to do just that.
I think there’s a good chance we will get a game with that kind of flow. Now we just have to wait to see what happens.
We had more to say on this topic at The Voice of College Football with host Mark Rogers:
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