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USC vs. Boston College 2013 Gameday Preview: Lineups, Links and Podcast

By Reign of Troy Staff

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Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

USC Trojans vs. BC Eagles

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | Los Angeles, Calif.12:00 PM Pacific | Pac-12 NetworksAll-time Series: USC leads 3-0Last meeting: USC 24, Boston College 13, in 2009 Emerald Bowl

Never before have fans given a USC head coach a pseudo public execution like they did to Lane Kiffin last week, booing and chanting both during and after a 10-7 loss to Pac-12 cellar-dwellers, Washington State. After a long week of media swarming, pressure from boosters and fans wavering between support of Kiffin’s removal and that of the players, the Trojans now have to best up-start Boston College if they want to move past last week’s offensive performance. On the surface, the Trojans can go nowhere but up offensively, and a defense that’s been spotty against the run, plus Kiffin naming a full-time starter might mean– WAIT, given the history of the last four USC games, trying to point out what could or should happen is problematic.

Well, screw it, we’ll do it anyway. Happy Gameday, here’s our preview:

Gameday links

When USC has the ball…The Trojans didn’t do much on offense last week against Washington State, highlighted by the fact that Cody Kessler and Wittek combined for just 54 passing yards. This week, things have to potential to be different, as Lane Kiffin has put all of his eggs in Kessler’s basketball, naming him the full-time starting quarterback. What will change? Well, we’re not sure yet. Kiffin admitted that there wasn’t an offensive gameplan last week, and if he’ll want to beat Boston College, a gameplan would be a good starting point. Kessler’s skill set has yet to be utilized completely, though ironically, the two times that Kessler was able to play his style of game, the Trojans scored. That includes a 19-yard feathered pass to Nelson Agholor at Hawaii, and a bootleg quarterback keeper that gave USC their only scoring play of the game, last week. Tre Madden’s still projected to get the bulk of the carries, as he’s the first USC running back since Marcus Allen to begin a season with two 100-yard games.

For BC on defense, they’re led by senior linebackers Kevin Pierre-Louis and Steele Divitto. The Eagles run a traditional 4-3 defensive scheme, and they’ve had success stopping teams so far this season. BC is 28th in total defense through two weeks, and they’ve forced seven turnovers, which is tied with USC for fourth nationally. Last year, BC struggled to stop the run, as they were 106th against in rush defense. Against Villanova in the season opener, the Eagles gave up 197 rushing yards to the FCS squad, though they held Wake Fores to less than a yard and a half per carry last week. For more extensive coverage of the BC defense, check out Soaring to Glory’s USC offense vs. BC defense breakdown.

USC’s Projected Offensive Starters:QB Cody Kessler #6WR Nelson AgholorLT Chad Wheeler #72LG Max Tuerk #75C Marcus Martin #66RG Aundrey Walker #70RT Kevin Graf #77TE Xavier Grimble #86WR Marqise Lee #9FB Jahleel Pinner #38RB Tre Madden #23

BC’s Projected Defensive StartersDE Kaleb Ramsey #96LT Mehdi Adesmad #45RT Connor Wujciak #90DE Kasim Edebali #91SLB Kevin Pierre-Louis #24MLB Steele Divitto #49WLB Steven Daniels #52CB Manuel Asprilla #21SS Spenser Rositano #47FS Sean Sylvia #19CB Bryce Jones #17

When BC has the ball…

The Eagles are a run-first offense are led by senior running back Andre Williams. Through two games, Williams is more than halfway to his rushing total from last year, ranking third in the nation in yards, with 318. Last week in a 24-10 win over Wake Forest, Rettig took a back seat and attempted just 14 passes, while Williams had his best game to date with a career-high 204 yards. Not surprisingly, he earned him the title of ACC Offensive Back of the Week. Against the Trojans, it’ll be interesting to see how the Eagles mix up the gameplan, as USC boasts the No. 1 rushing defense in the country, giving up just 0.3 yards per carry, through two games. BC never trailed against Wake and could afford to run the ball 77 percent of the time, while against Villanova in Week 1, they trailed for roughly 30 minutes of game clock, forcing senior quarterback Chase Rettig to wheel and deal in the pocket and lead the charge on a solid second half of play..For more on the BC offense vs. the USC defense, click here.

BC’s Projected Offensive Starters:LT Matt Patchan #77LG Bobby Vardaro #76C Andy Gallik #59RG Harris Williams #64RT Ian White #62Y/TE C.J. Parsons #87HWR Mike Naples #89QB Chase Rettig #11TB Andre Williams #44FB Jarrett Darmstatter #82WR Alex Amidon #83WR Dan Crimmins #18WR Spiffy Evans #7

USC’s Projected Defensive Starters:OLB Devon Kennard #42DE Leonard Williams #94NT Antwaun Woods #99DE George Uko #90OLB Morgan Breslin #91MLB Hayes Pullard #10WLB Lamar Dawson #55CB Kevon Seymour #13FS Josh Shaw #26SS Su’a Cravens #21CB Anthony Brown #16

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