USC Football Game Preview: Week 2 vs. Stanford
USC will play Stanford in Palo Alto the second week of the 2022 season, marking the 100th matchup in the rivalry’s history.
The Trojans have taken 62 of the previous contests and will look to bounce back after suffering a humiliating loss at home last September, which resulted in the firing of USC head coach Clay Helton.
Though Stanford almost always puts up a tough fight in this rivalry, and it will be a road game for the Trojans, USC should be able to secure a victory and a 2-0 start to the season.
David Shaw is entering his 12th season as the head coach at Stanford and has racked up a 93-45 record to go along with three Pac-12 championships, despite winning just three games last season.
Quarterback Tanner McKee threw for 2327 yards and 10 touchdowns to go along with four more on the ground in his first season as a starter but struggled with turnovers, and the offense as a whole was among the least productive in the Pac-12.
USC running back transfer Austin Jones will get to compete against his old squad after spending the last three years at Stanford, where he scored 13 touchdowns and averaged over four yards per carry.
The Trojans will aim to continue to put all of their new pieces together and pick up their first in-conference win. A Pac-12 championship or better is certainly a possibility for USC, but it will have to start with a strong week two performance.
Given the depth and versatility of USC’s weapons, it shouldn’t be too difficult to get into the endzone against a defense that allowed over 32 points per game last year, and the Trojans should come out on top in this one.
