Action Network calls for Stanford to pull off the upset against USC

Outside of people within the Stanford community, many people are overlooking the Cardinal for their Week 2 matchup against No. 10 USC.

Sites such as Bleacher Report, College Football Network, and ESPN's FPI are all calling for the Trojans to handle business, but Action Network writer, Stuckey, is on the flip side. As apart of their podcast "Big Bets on Campus" he and his fellow host selected underdogs that they throwing some money on for Week 2, and Stuckey is going all in on the Cardinal.

Here is why he thinks that Stanford will not only pull off the upset, but maybe earn some betting people money:

USC remains the most obvious choice after kicking its season off with a 50-point trouncing of Rice. However, a closer look at the early play-by-play indicates the Trojan defense still has some very exploitable flaws. The Owls started off that contest with a 16-play touchdown drive that took eight minutes off the clock. Rice couldn’t really sustain many drives after that, especially in comeback mode after USC pulled away in part due to multiple non-offensive touchdowns in addition to an obvious mammoth talent gap.That opening score from Owls head coach Mike Bloomgren, who previously served as Stanford’s offensive coordinator, certainly caught my eye. Plus, the talent disparity will not be as wide this week.

He continued saying:

Meanwhile, Stanford had an even easier path to victory over Colgate last week. Quarterback Tanner McKee, who possesses an NFL-ready arm, lit up the FCS opponent with four big-time throws, hitting five different targets for multiple explosive plays with an average depth of target of 10.1 yards. McKee is more than capable of giving the Trojans fits. The USC run defense also may be a bit vulnerable, ranking below average nationally in Stuff Rate.You may recall a three-win Stanford team pulled off two upsets last season against ranked USC and Oregon squads as 17.5- and 8.5-point underdogs, respectively. It has a real chance of pulling off another one here, which would put a major dent in USC’s playoff aspirations.

When it comes down to it, Stanford does have a legitimate chance of beating USC and the oddsmakers continue to trend in that direction as ESPN adjusted the spread for a second time this week from 8.5 to 8. It will all come down to if they can establish the run, limit turnovers, and prevent too many big plays by the USC offense.