(Photo: OutKick)
Campus Clash
(8) USC Trojans at Colorado Buffaloes
USC: They’re off to another quick start this season. Look at everything Lincoln Riley has done since becoming a Head Coach. First, he replaced Bob Stoops in Norman to take over the Oklahoma Sooners. In his first year, he helped lead Oklahoma to the College Football Playoff and Baker Mayfield won the Heisman that season. The following year in 2018, they get back to the playoffs and Kyler Murray wins the Heisman. After a five year stint with the Sooners, Lincoln takes the job in Southern California and they become a top ten team in the nation. Also, last season, Caleb Williams won the Heisman. If you said Lincoln was the best offensive minded coach in the nation, I wouldn’t disagree with you one bit because he’s coached three Heisman winners and two of them were number one overall picks in the NFL Draft. Lincoln coached teams are very similar to one another. You know their offense is going to light the scoreboard up and move the football up the field. This USC attack is very balanced because they’re running the football as effectively as they are passing it. They’re averaging 569 yards of total offense per contest. What’s hurting them is their defense and as I’ve always said, there’s more pressure on their offense because the defense struggles to get off the field. With a struggling offense, that means the offense must sustain long drives and the offense is their defense. Just imagine if the Trojans had the defense to complement the offense. This would be the best team in the country. On Saturday, they’ll make a trip to Boulder.
Colorado: We knew they’d lose eventually. Yes, they’ve been the talk of the sport, but I’ve never seen a coach generate as much negativity as I have Deion Sanders. Let me ask you this. How come a bunch of this negative energy has been aimed at Pat Fitzgerald who coached Northwestern? He was responsible for a hazing scandal, but Prime gets backlash for just being himself. Got it. Please make it make sense. Coach Prime is a good coach who motivates young men to their potential. He’s also that father figure and the other day when I was on the radio, I said if I had a son and he were looking to play college football, I’d want him to play for Prime because of everything he’d teach him on the field and how to conduct yourself off the field. Nobody was saying Colorado would be a title contender nor would they win it all in the first year with the new Head Coach, but many have said that anything beyond the one win they had last year is an improvement and here they are at 3-1. They looked awful in Eugene in week four. Oregon kept their foot on the gas and never let up and the Buffaloes couldn’t get out of the hole. My two takeaways still stand with this team. The first is they still can’t run the football and putting everything on Shedeur Sanders’ shoulders is a recipe for a loss. The other is they can’t stop the run. Also, Oregon is a far better team than TCU, Nebraska and Colorado State are combined. Think about that. They return home Saturday for another conference showdown.
USC X-Factor: Marshawn Lloyd– He transferred to USC after playing his first two years at South Carolina. I love the toughness Marshawn plays with. He has zero issues about running through people or throwing them to the ground when they’re in his path. He runs with consistent speed and power. Even with guys attempting to bring him down, Marshawn will still run to get those additional yards.
Colorado X-Factor: Trevor Woods– He survived the overhaul of the roster. Trevor is the definition of being a ballhawk. No matter where he is, Trevor will find his way to that football. While Shilo Sanders might be the hammer of this Buffaloes defense, Trevor is the glue to the secondary in Colorado. He’s a tackling machine that plays from sideline to sideline. Watch him closely on Saturday against this prolific USC offense.
Three Things I’m Watching
1. Boulder Energy– Coach Prime said they wouldn’t have a pity party after the loss. I want to see the energy they come out with because what’s the saying? How do you respond to the adversity? They’ll come out with a chip on their shoulder and want to make a statement early on. Adversity builds champions. Last week happened and this week is here. Focus on the now and what’s in front of you.
2. Caleb vs Shedeur– This is such an interesting Quarterback matchup. You have the best Quarterback in the country in Caleb in one corner against another in Shedeur who’s been proving he can play at the D1 level. The ball is going to fly all over the field in this one and both of these Quarterbacks can spin the football down the field. I’m looking forward to seeing these two Quarterbacks battle it out here.
3. Regroup– I want to see how the Buffaloes defense will attempt to regroup for another offense which plays with tempo and speed. They got it in Oregon and couldn’t handle it. Now, they’ll face a Trojans offense anchored by the reigning Heisman and elite offensive minded coach in Lincoln. If the Buffaloes can finish tackles, get some pressure on Caleb and not blow coverages nor gap assignments, they will be in good shape.
Final Thoughts: This should be an entertaining game. If you’re looking for defense such as what we saw with Ohio State and Notre Dame, this isn’t the game for you! The offense will be taking center stage in this one. I expect USC to start quickly and do all they can to take this crowd out of the game. Colorado will come out and attack this USC defense which has holes in it so they should have no issues scoring in this one. What will the Buffaloes throw at Caleb to rattle him? You can’t just let him nickel and dime you apart all game and if you do, it’ll be a long day at the office for the defense. This will be a back-and-forth affair, but in the end, USC just has too much firepower and that is what will propel them to a victory in this contest.
Prediction: USC 49, Colorado 24
