Tag: USC Stanford

USC-Stanford football rivalry stops after 118 years, 102 games, and golden memories

1905-2023. 118 years. There is no scheduled future game between #USC and #Stanford. We’ll see when they meet next.

The death of the Pac-12 Conference and the departure of 10 different schools mean that the games we grew up watching in the West won’t be played on a regular basis anymore.

USC-Stanford is one of those games. With the Trojans heading to the Big Ten and the Cardinal moving to the ACC next year, there is no schedule slot for these teams. They schedule nonconference games a few years in advance, and both have Notre Dame as an annual nonconference opponent. USC already has its nonconference dance card for 2024, with LSU and Utah State on the slate in addition to the Fighting Irish.

These schools might enjoy playing other teams for a few years, but the realities of long-distance travel should lead USC and Stanford to schedule a nonconference game later in this decade. For now, though, this rivalry is on pause after USC’s 56-10 win over the Cardinal on Saturday.

Let’s look back at the USC-Stanford football series with statistics, facts, historical notes, and prominent memories:

USC-Stanford game was the end of an era; the schools will travel far apart

USC and Stanford won’t meet in 2024. USC goes to the #B1G and Stanford goes to the #ACC. Who knows when they’ll meet next?

The Stanford-USC football series has a lot of history behind it. The first meeting was in 1905. The schools played regularly since 1919. From 1925 through 2019, the only three years the schools didn’t meet in football were the last three years of World War II, from 1943 through 1945. The schools met every year from 1946 through 2019 before the 2020 COVID-19 season interrupted the rivalry.

Now, after USC’s win over the Cardinal on Saturday night, the series’ future is uncertain. There won’t be a game between the schools in 2024, and no future meeting has been scheduled. These California-based schools aren’t that far apart, but Stanford will now fly to the far-away places of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

How far? Look at the numbers for the Trees, who will branch out to Boston and Miami and the other locales of their new conference next year:

USC-Stanford gallery: The Trojans and Coliseum looked great on Saturday night

It was a gorgeous night for football in L.A., and the Trojans looked beautiful. Picture-perfect, you might say: #USC

For the third game in a row, Caleb Williams and the USC Trojans went into the locker room at halftime having scored more than 20 points in the first half, but this time was special. The Trojans scored 49 points in the first half against Stanford, and Caleb sat on the bench for the rest of the game. Miller Moss was able to play a full half and get the reps he needed.

Zachariah Branch dazzled, Brenden Rice scored on a 75-yard touchdown, and a lot of players contributed. The seven scores in the first half were accounted for by seven different Trojan players.

USC now enters an off week next week and is at 3-0. Here are some of the best photos from a 56-10 victory over Stanford in Los Angeles:

USC defense doesn’t allow a touchdown in first 56 minutes of Stanford blowout

USC led 35-0 with 40 minutes left in the game. The defense could have relaxed and played soft. It didn’t. That’s culture.

First things first: Yes, Stanford is a bad, bad football team in 2023. The Cardinal’s win over Hawaii one week ago doesn’t look nearly as impressive now as it did then. Maybe Stanford’s easy 37-24 victory on the island allowed for the possibility that the Cardinal could pose a little bit of a test to the Trojans on Saturday night in the Los Angeles Coliseum.

Nope. Not so. Not even close. Stanford is atrocious. No one should get too excited about beating a terrible team.

However: If you’re an elite team and you’re playing a terrible team, this is how it should look, right? This is how a top-tier team with grand ambitions should play against a bottom feeder. This is how a national championship contender should treat a cellar-dwelling opponent.

Play like you’re supposed to play. Act like you’re supposed to act. Perform the way you are coached and trained to do when you take the field for a live game.

This is what it is all supposed to look like. USC’s defense didn’t allow a touchdown in the first 56 minutes. Not until 3:35 remained on the clock did USC allow its only touchdown of the night.

Let’s go inside the reactions and game details for the USC defense, plus a few other elements of the atmosphere inside the Coliseum on a fun night for the Trojans:

USC tsunami: Caleb Williams scores avalanche of points in awesome first-half display

#USC scored 21 in the first quarter and 49 in the first half. Caleb Williams went off. This was ‘God mode’ football. #FireworksShow

The USC Trojans looked the part of a heavyweight team on Saturday night in Los Angeles.

In the first half, they completely dominated and rag-dolled the Stanford Cardinal, throwing their opponent around every inch of the Coliseum with terrifying, swift, merciless force.

USC played hard, fast and tough. The Trojans’ speed and skill established a very big lead which kept growing every few minutes. It was a sight to behold. USC was able to play a lot of backups in the second half as a consequence of the first-half barrage. Had USC kept its starters in for the duration, it could have scored over 80 points against a Pac-12 (Power Five) opponent.

Bigger tests will come later. This was a night of fun. It was a time to simply sit back and enjoy the magic of Caleb Williams, Zachariah Branch, Tahj Washington, and the rest of the Trojans, who played a genuinely complete half and looked like a top-10 team.

Here are the highlights, the nuggets of analysis, and the reactions:

USC vs Stanford Prediction, Game Preview

USC vs Stanford prediction and game preview. Saturday, September 11

USC vs Stanford prediction and game preview.

USC vs Stanford Broadcast

Date: Saturday, September 11
Game Time: 10:30 ET
Venue: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA
Network: FOX

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USC (1-0) vs Stanford (0-1) Game Preview

Why Stanford Will Win

And here we go with the Tanner McKee era.

Jack West was supposed to be the quarterback who took Stanford back to prominence, and he wasn’t totally miserable in the 24-7 loss to Kansas State. However, he threw two picks, McKee hit 15-of-18 passes, and here comes the change.

The Cardinal have enough talent and enough potential to be far better than it showed against the Wildcats, and it starts with a defensive front that generated decent pressure and helped keep the game close until late.

USC needed a great fourth quarter to get by San Jose State 30-7, giving up over 300 yards to QB Nick Starkel and struggling to close with scores until late. McKee has to let it fly.

– Week 2 College Football Expert Picks

Why USC Will Win

Didn’t you used to be the Stanford running game?

The program that became known for its great line play and elite production from the backs managed just 39 yards. There wasn’t any room to move, the line couldn’t handle the K-State pass rush, and the O didn’t put any points on the board until the fourth.

Yeah, it took a bit for USC to get going, but that seems to be the way the team works over the last few years. It takes a little while, and then everything starts to click.

Kedon Slovis didn’t make any major mistakes against the Spartans, Drake London was unstoppable with 12 catches, and the defensive front didn’t allow much of anything on the ground.

If McKee isn’t great and if Stanford isn’t hitting big plays through the air, forget it.

– Week 1 NFL Predictions, Game Previews

What’s Going To Happen

Stanford will keep relying on its defense to keep the team in games, but once again the inability to power away with the ground attack will be an issue.

Once again, USC will need time to wake up – even in the late start – but Slovis will come up with two good scoring drives, the defense will generate stops, and it’ll be another rough day for the Cardinal.

– Week 2 College Football Schedule, Predictions, Game Previews

USC vs Stanford Prediction, Line

USC 34, Stanford 20
Line: USC -17.5, o/u: 51.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 2

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Must See Rating: 3

5: Curb Your Enthusiasm, Season 11
1: Vacation Friends

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