TrojanSports Roundtable: Staff perspective and predictions for USC-Colorado

The expectations on this USC football team are perfectly clear -- anything less than playing like a legit College Football Playoff contender every week is underwhelming.

The Trojans (4-0, 2-0 Pac-12) closed out a 42-28 road win at Arizona State last weekend and promptly dropped three spots in the AP poll to No. 8, getting passed by fellow 4-0 teams Ohio State, Penn State and Washington.

All the while fanning the eternal flame of discontent within the fan base for the defense.

Coach Lincoln Riley says he understands how it is and how it's going to be.

"I mean, it's like I told you guys last year after the Utah loss, I've been through this. If you just keep winning, like all those things are going to take care of itself. Everybody could sit here and debate right now between all the 4-0 teams, like who's No. 1, who's No. 3, who's No. 7, who's No. 8? Really, it doesn't matter right now," Riley said. "All blueblood, the big-boy programs like this are all held to the same standard. We experienced the same thing when I was at Oklahoma. Other top programs feel this.

"You've got your top five or six programs in the country that this is just part of it, and so you're going to always have an overreaction with teams like this all the time -- positive or negative. So the answer for us is keep getting better, keep winning. That takes care of everything, and if you keep doing that, there's no bias, there's no double-standard, there's nothing that can keep you away from where you want to be if you keep taking care of business on Saturdays, and that's what we've got to keep doing."

Indeed, the winds of opinion and perception change swifty in college football. A couple weeks ago, USC's visit to Colorado on Saturday morning (9 a.m. PT on FOX) was set to be a showdown of Heisman Trophy contenders and high stakes.

Then the Buffaloes (3-1, 0-1 Pac-12) went to Oregon and got demolished, 42-6, with the Ducks scoring touchdowns on six of their first seven possessions before coasting the rest of the way.

That game revealed that as compelling as Deion Sanders' rebuilding job in Boulder is, it's still in its early stages. That always seemed to be the reality but was obscured by a spotlight-seizing win over TCU, a thorough victory against Nebraska and a dramatic double-overtime escape against Colorado State.

As the Trojans found out last week, though, playing a feisty Arizona State team looking to rebound from a 29-0 loss to Fresno State, storylines reset every week and a humbled Buffs team at home at Folsom Field may be much different than the perhaps overconfident one that got put in its place in Eugene, Oregon.

"Very similar to what we just walked into, right?" Riley said of getting Colorado on the rebound from that loss. "Again, everybody wants to write the book week after week and a lot of things change week to week. And so listen, whether they won by a lot, lost by a lot or anything in between, we're going to see a good football team at their home. And those are always a challenge. I mean, I say it all the time. I told the guys this morning road conference games are gold. That's where it's at, man. You want to be a champion, that's where it's at.

"And so this is another one and it's a big challenge and I think probably good for us that we faced a little bit of the challenge that we did. And I think I feel like we will be even more prepared going into this one."

As we do each week, our TrojanSports.com team covers the key facets of the matchup and narrative to get you set for kickoff, as well as delivering our predictions.

This Colorado team had so much hype before that deflating loss at Oregon last week. How good do you think the Buffs are and how do you see them finishing this season?

Ryan Young: "I think they're a little better than I expected but still probably a 6-6 team that will be battling for bowl eligibility. That's two or three wins more than I initially thought, but the same questions I had about the Buffs before the season are the ones that Oregon put under a bright light last week. Colorado is overmatched on the offensive line, and thus has no threat of a rushing attack, making it heavily reliant on its passing game -- when it can give QB Shedeur Sanders enough time to operate, that is. The Buffs also are undermanned throughout the defense, especially on the defensive front. I can see them challenging for wins at Arizona State, home against Stanford, home against Arizona and maybe a surprise somewhere else. I do not think there is much chance that surprise comes Saturday vs. USC."

Tajwar Khandaker: "The Buffs are a decent team as a whole, carried by highly-talented players at key skill positions but held back by their lack of quality in the trenches. Shedeur Sanders is a legitimate star at the quarterback position, and his ability at the helm of that offense along with the playmakers he has to work with make it possible for the Buffs offense to put up points in a hurry when things are clicking. However, the resounding weakness of the offensive line keeps Colorado’s run game from being a factor, leaving it dangerously reliant on the success of that passing attack. Oregon showed last week what can happen when the Buffs offense has to face a team with real defensive line talent, and that’s not likely to get much better all year even if the staff takes their best shot at making adjustments.

"On defense, Colorado has a smattering of talented players but no real strength as a unit. The group can create just enough havoc on splash plays from time to time to allow the offense to pull away, but that’s about it, especially with the absence of cornerback and two-way star Travis Hunter. Hunter is arguably Colorado’s best player on both sides of the ball, and his injury significantly shrinks the team’s chances of victory in any given week. Altogether, this is a team that might float near the top of college football’s middle class this season but probably won’t have a real shot at getting close to the final top-25. I expect the Buffs to finish the year at just about .500, perhaps just a game over or below."

Jeff McCulloch: "Colorado has certainly been better than most people expected. On paper, beating TCU and Nebraska are massive wins for where this program was last year. However, this season, TCU and Nebraska are bad teams -- especially Nebraska, as their quarterback Jeff Sims played the worst game of his life and he isn’t that good otherwise. The very close win against Colorado State was very telling. Colorado should have destroyed Colorado State. Deion Sanders has done an incredible job bringing in transfer talents to speed up the rebuilding process. The problem is that they don’t have the guys in the trenches. Their defensive line is atrocious. It takes longer to rebuild on both sides of the line than it does to land some high-profile skill position talent. Everyone knows Deion Sanders and that he can spotlight skill players but doesn’t have any history developing linemen.

"This is a 6-6 or 7-5 team and that is phenomenal for Sanders to come in and take 1-win program and bring this much attention to the now most-watched team in the country. This year, I don’t think they are going to be a threat, but next year, if they can convince the big boys in the trenches to come to Colorado, watch out."

What is the most intriguing offensive storyline for USC this week?

Tajwar: "The most pressing question for the Trojans offense this week is whether or not they can shed the persistent dysfunction that plagued them in their first road game of the season last weekend. Against ASU, the USC offense was clearly caught off guard by the road environment. Calls weren’t getting in on time, the ball was being snapped late, penalties were committed all over the place, and the offensive line could not seem to get on the same page in pass protection. Against what’s sure to be an even more hostile and amped-up crowd in Boulder this week, it’ll be imperative for the Trojans to show that those struggles were a blip on the radar and not the first look at serious issues that would inevitably threaten this team in some of the brutal road games that await later in the year. If the Trojans can show up locked in, prepared and ready to play the game on their terms, it’ll go a long way toward alleviating the concerns raised last week and reestablishing USC’s identity as one of the heavyweights in the playoff fight. If they come out looking flat and out of sync once again, however, those questions will only keep mounting, even with a win."