For the fourth time in four games, USC is a commanding favorite -- 34.5 points in this case -- as it travels to Arizona State.
The only wrinkle this week is that the Trojans are on the road for the first time (7:30 p.m. PT Saturday night on FOX), which counts for something (not so much for the oddsmakers but perhaps for USC's young players).
"The biggest challenge for us is this team has never been on the road this year, so it's going to be a test for us to make sure we can go into somebody's else's house and not have the energy of our crowd but have each other to depend on and go out and play at the same level that we've been able to play at at home," WRs coach Dennis Simmons said.
But to be clear, playing this game in Tempe, Arizona, is about the only thing the Sun Devils (1-2) have working in their favor (to whatever degree) against the No. 5-ranked Trojans (3-0).
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USC is the top scoring team in the FBS at 59.3 points per game while Arizona State has the third-worst scoring offense in the country (13.0 PPG), has yet to beat an FBS opponent (only narrowly beating FCS foe Southern Utah) and just got shutout 29-0 by Fresno State.
The Trojans are led by reigning Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams, while the Sun Devils are starting a third different quarterback (Notre Dame transfer Drew Pyne) in four games.
What this USC team has done better than the 2022 version -- or any recent version, for that matter -- is take care of business as it is supposed to in these kind of games. The Trojans have looked stronger with each passing week, as evidenced by the 49-3 first-half obliteration of Stanford two weekends ago.
Now coming off a bye, the biggest (only?) question for USC is whether it can maintain that level of dominance and momentum heading into the meat of the schedule, which starts next week at Colorado.
"We've practiced well. We didn't certainly seem to come back on Monday with any type of bye week rust or kind of the bye week kind of hangover feeling you can kind of get in terms of you're off the field for three days. We came back with intent and we were pretty sharp Monday, and we've had three really good days," coach Lincoln Riley said Thursday. "I think they're serious about it. They know for us to be the team we want to be that these road games are going to be obviously a big factor in that, so I do feel like they've embraced it. We've handled the week well. Now, handling the week well and going out on the road and doing it, right, are two different things, but I do feel we've set ourselves up to go play well in this first one."
It would certainly be a surprise -- especially to the Vegas oddsmakers -- if they didn't ...
With that said, let's dive deeper into the storylines for Saturday night in our weekly TrojanSports.com roundtable discussion.
As USC goes on the road for the first time this season, what do you hope to learn about the Trojans?
Ryan Young: "I don't know how much we can truly learn big-picture, as I think this Arizona State team is going to challenge Stanford for the bottom of the Pac-12 standings. This feels like it will be an extension of the three-game 'preseason' that preceded the bye week. That said, there are always things to learn, and for this team that usually revolves around the defense. While there have certainly been positive signs in the early going -- especially in the demolition of Stanford two weeks ago -- we still don't truly know how much better Alex Grinch's unit is this year than where it ended up in 2022. It's a continuing evaluation that strengthens as the sample size expands. To that end, I'm most intrigued by the linebacker situation as the Trojans are finally at full strength at that position for the first time all fall. With Mason Cobb back and Eric Gentry feeling stronger coming off the bye, what does that mean for Tackett Curtis, Raesjon Davis and Shane Lee. I suspect all will play in this game and we may not get a true answer on the rotation there until the Trojans head to Colorado next week, but it will be an important showcase for each to try to earn their roles and snaps moving forward. Ditto the rotation at wide receiver."
Tajwar Khandaker: "Like Ryan said, from a capability perspective, this game doesn’t present enough of a test for it to teach us much about this team that the previous three contests haven’t already shown, barring any unexpected developments. The overarching question I have heading into this game is whether or not the Trojans are consistent and focused enough on the road to keep their foot on the gas the way they did in the team’s two previous matchups. By all rights, this game should look similar to either of those blowouts given the gaping chasm of talent, health and momentum between USC and ASU. If this team has turned the corner mentality-wise, Saturday night’s contest should be another breeze, one where the second and third-team units get extended minutes through the second half. However, if the Trojans do begin to show lapses of concentration and allow ASU to hang around longer than expected, it’ll be a telling indication that this team isn’t quite as far along in its progression as the first three weeks of the season have appeared to indicate."
Jeff McCulloch: "Agreed. Unfortunately, we won’t learn much from this team this weekend as I expect another blowout win, but it will be interesting to see how the freshmen react to being the villains on the road. Looking forward to seeing Mason Cobb out there and seeing him bounce back from his injury. The team spoke a lot this week about really embracing the bad-guy mentality coming into someone else’s field and being the dominant team. We'll see if they can deliver."
With Mason Cobb back in action this week, what do you expect the LB rotation to be?
Ryan: "I guess I got ahead of myself on this one! Well, let me expound. My gut feel is that we eventually see Cobb and Gentry emerge as to the two primary inside linebackers, with Lee remaining involved as an established veteran and Curtis and Davis battling to earn whatever snaps remain. That said, an expected lopsided game against Arizona State provides another opportunity to spread snaps around for another week before truly settling on a plan moving forward. Lincoln Riley noted that it's not only about individual performance but how those linebackers play in sync and work off one another, so I expect will see a number of different combinations to get more film on different pairings working together. Curtis has started all three games so far and the staff has been committed to spurring along his development with significant game reps because of their belief in the ultimate upside he brings to the position -- if he starts again with everybody healthy, that could be a strong statement for his role moving forward."
Tajwar: "I expect the team to continue to be careful with players returning from injury in a game like this, meaning that Cobb will probably see limited snaps even if he walks out as the starter. Eric Gentry’s share of downs will likely increase given the extra week off and his impressive play in limited time against Stanford, though I’m certain the coaching staff will still look to monitor his playtime carefully. On the other hand, I think both Raesjon Davis and Tackett Curtis will see plenty of reps throughout this game, both with the first-team as well as later during in a potential lopsided game. Given the relative inexperience of both young linebackers, it would make plenty of sense for the staff to continue affording the duo opportunities to take live snaps and make a stronger case for more playing time going forward. Shane Lee will certainly factor in throughout as well, giving the team a five-backer corps which I think they’ll shuffle through pretty constantly from the beginning. Overall, I’d venture to guess that Cobb and Gentry start the game, while Davis and Curtis end up taking the most snaps at the position by the time the night is done. I won’t be surprised if we see pretty much every permutation of the five on the field at one time or another, as the coaches try to find the best long-term pairing to run with."
Jeff: "We won’t know what the true linebacker rotation will be until the game against Colorado. I expect Mason Cobb and Tackett Curtis get the start in this game but will not play the whole game. If the game goes the way we think it will go, Cobb should be done after the first half just to keep him healthy. Curtis still needs these valuable reps to get truly acquainted with college football. This could be the game where Eric Gentry will be “unleashed." He has played limited snaps, just to keep him healthy and just slowly bring him back, but he actually played the most snaps for the linebacker position against Stanford. This will put more pressure on Curtis to perform or else we can see him lose his job to Gentry. Raesjon Davis is the true wildcard in this room. Whenever he gets a true look at the position, he plays really well, and I think that is starting to turn heads in the coaching staff. It seems like the staff really doesn’t know what to do at the linebacker position and they are waiting for someone to step up and separate themselves from the pack."