Reporter Roundtable: Picks, predictions and perspective for USC-Colorado

1. Colorado has the second-worst pass defense in the country. What do you expect from QB Kedon Slovis and Co.?

Ryan Young: A lot. I expect a lot -- for two reasons. First, as noted, Colorado has been brutal in pass defense this year. It allowed Arizona QB Khalil Tate -- whom USC totally shut down -- to pass for 404 yards. Take out their game against ground-oriented Air Force, and the Buffaloes are actually allowing 342.8 passing yards per game against their other opponents. USC needs to get it pass attack going and this is the perfect opportunity. Also, the Trojans don't know how much freshman running back Kenan Christon can handle yet, nor do they want to run him into the ground with no depth behind him. For those reasons, I expect Slovis to put up big numbers. I'm think 350 passing yards, and I cut it off there only because I expect USC to be up comfortably in the fourth quarter and pull its starters down the stretch.

Tajwar Khandaker: I think this will be the Trojans’ most comfortable victory of the year so far, and this is a big reason why. Slovis will have plenty of time in the pocket, and he should have great matchups all across the field to pick from against a weak Colorado secondary. He should pick this defense apart -- expect a ton of passing yards.

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2. Kenan Christon is the next man up, but the question is how much can he handle? What do you expect from the freshman running back?

Ryan: USC running backs coach Mike Jinks was pretty candid in saying that Christon isn't physically ready to handle a massive workload and that he fully expects former walk-on Quincy Jountti to have a role despite his fumble last week. Factor in my above comments about the passing attack and I'm guessing 15 carries for Christon. As he showed last week, he can do a lot of damage in limited opportunity. I'm excited to see what he does in an expanded role, but I don't expect the Trojans to ask too much of him.

Tajwar: This is the perfect game for Christon to be thrust into the starting position. Colorado’s already limited defense will have to sell out against the Trojans passing game, so I expect there to be plenty of opportunity on the ground for Christon. With the lack of competition in the backfield due to the Trojans’ injuries, Christon could be in line for more carries than any other USC back has had this season. He won’t be tested much against the Buffalos and should be able to put up a nice stat line once again.