Can Stanford really win the Trojan War?

The Prince of Troy is heading to the Farm this weekend, which means he is out of his element.  No throne or castle to be had for Mr. Barkley in Palo Alto, just miles of farmland and a stadium that seats a cozy 50,000.  Stanford may not have the decorated players that highly ranked USC touts, but Barkley won’t exactly be riding in on any Trojan horse.  Coach Shaw knows what he is up against; knows the troops stepping foot on Cardinal turf and knows their plan of attack.  What matters now for the Cardinal is defending against what they know is coming, and managing to strike back.

Stanford presents the toughest team that USC faces so far this year.  Never mind that it’s the third game in both teams seasons and that USC opened with softball Hawaii before moving on to slightly tougher Syracuse.  The Stanford defense is strong, particularly the front seven.  But the USC offense boasts an all-star cast in Woods, Lee, McNeal, Redd, Grimble and Telfer.  Even Skov and all American Chase Thomas can’t handle all that power every play.  The secondary will be key for Stanford. But Barkley is out for blood, having never defeated Stanford in his four years at Southern California and suffering a nail biting triple overtime loss to the Cardinal in his own house last year.

One thing Stanford has going for them is the amount of penalty yards USC has racked up in their two prior games.  The fact that center Khaled Holmes is injured doesn’t hurt either.  Although he is listed on the depth chart, Kiffen is known for playing injuries very close to the chest.  With the kicker also an unknown, not even having made the trip to NYC despite being listed as active, USC has a few key holes in their armor that Stanford needs to capitalize on.

With Nunes now quarterbacking in the absence of Andrew Luck, Stanford relies heavily on their run game, handing off to Taylor and Wilkerson, with standout tight end’s Ertz and Toilolo being thrown to less and less.  Although Nunes and the 6”8 Toilolo connected last Saturday against Duke courtesy of the “Levine lob”, don’t expect that to be a go to play for the Stanford offense this coming Saturday.

All bets are off when Stanford and USC play, whether it’s down on the Farm or in the Coliseum.  All the preparation, all the preview articles, all the predictions and betting odds go out the window.  It comes down to who shows up.  Will it be Matt Barkley’s head or Shayne Skov’s heart that gives their team the edge?  Maybe it will be Redd’s legs or Ty Montgomery’s hands.  Either way, it’s all (body parts) in.