USC vs Arizona Prediction Game Preview

USC vs Arizona Game Preview

Why Arizona Will Win

Jayden de Laura, your order is ready.

USC will score a gajillion points and crank up a bazillion yards, because that’s what USC does. Arizona won’t be able to stop any of it, but it needs to at least find one thing to take away - it might be the ground game. If Caleb Williams throws for 400 yards and five scores, so be it.

de Laura didn’t do much in the win over Stanford, but he hit 79% of his throws in the win over UTEP, bombed away on Mississippi State, and overall the passing game is there to push a Trojan secondary that couldn’t do anything over the last 20 minutes against Shedeur Sanders and the Colorado passing game.

USC doesn’t have a turnover problem, but it’ll get hit with at least eight flags, and it’ll lose focus. This team has a funky way of taking a nap for stretches, and that’s when the Cat attack has to strike. They just have to be patient, but their moment is coming.

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Why USC Will Win

USC has a defense. At least, it has a defense that can do enough right to help out the offense.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, it gives up too many passing yards and it’s hardly a brick wall, but it does one thing really, really well.

USC gets into the backfield.

It’s No. 1 in the nation in tackles for loss and sixth in sacks. It doesn’t mean the run defense is good, and it’s not translating into takeaways as much as it should - the Trojans are getting fumbles, but not a slew of picks - but this D gets after it behind the line.

The Arizona offensive front has been night-and-day better than previous versions, but it only faced one dangerous pass rush so far, and Mississippi State was able to force de Laura to throw four picks. USC’s defensive front is far more disruptive.

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USC vs Arizona Who Will Win

Arizona has done it before.

It kept Michael Penix Jr. and Washington from going ballistic last week, but still lost 31-24 in a good fight. It went into UCLA last year and - helped by a wonderful day by de Laura - pulled off a stunning shootout win.

The passing yards will be there and the offense will do its part to keep this interesting, but the machine isn’t stopping.

Again, we know how this works. USC will be awesome, it’ll chill for a bit and Arizona will put up a bunch of points, and then Caleb Williams will do something Caleb Williams to end the drama.

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USC vs Arizona Prediction, Line

USC 44, Arizona 27
USC vs Arizona Line: USC -21.5, o/u: 72
ATS Confidence out of 5: 2
USC vs Arizona Must See Rating (out of 5): 3

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