USC doesn’t play today, September 16. The Trojans need to rest up, because they will be playing nine straight weeks after this empty Saturday. They will play from September 23 through November 18 without ceasing. This is why you have seen such balanced snap counts for players through the first three games of the season.
USC has definitely achieved the goal of minimizing the workload for its top players. It will need to continue to do that against Arizona State, a team it should be able to defeat by 25 or more points next week. Colorado might get sticky, but Arizona is another team USC should demolish, giving starters a lighter workload before the Notre Dame game on October 14.
We talked to Fighting Irish Wire about USC during the off week. One of the points we made was this:
“This USC team is beginning to show a better attitude. The 49-3 first half against Stanford was obviously impressive, but last year’s USC defense would have allowed three or four second-half touchdowns and coasted home with a lot of sloppy and inadequate plays. This defense didn’t allow a touchdown until under four minutes remained in regulation. That’s a definite increase in pride and accountability. It is certainly something for the coaches to build on as the season goes along.”
Catch all of Ducks Wire’s Pac-12 team previews for the 2023 season:
Arizona — Arizona State — California — Colorado — Oregon State — Stanford — UCLA — USC — Utah — Washington — Washington State