USC vs. ASU: Live Game Thread, Starting Lineups and Preview

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

USC vs. Arizona State

Sun Devil Stadium | Tempe, Ariz.7:30 PM Pacific | ESPN2 | WatchESPN Live StreamAll-time Series: USC leads 18-10Last meeting: USC 38, ASU 17, in 2011Line: Arizona State -4 (according to Bovada)

USC and Arizona State are set to square off in a pivotal Pac-12 South matchup, with both teams looking to avoid a daunting 0-2 start in conference play.

The Trojans will need to improve on a subpar offensive performance against Utah State and the Sun Devils hope to right the ship after a physical loss to Stanford. After shutting down Aggies quarterback Chuckie Keeton, the USC defense will be tasked with containing another uptempo, spread-you-out attack.

Including previews from our friends in both the USC and Arizona State blogosphere, get up to speed in time before the 7:30 p.m. kickoff with some gameday links:

• Tale of the tape (Reign of Troy)
• Countdown to kickoff (Reign of Troy)
• Five things to watch for (Reign of Troy)
• Previewing ASU defense (Reign of Troy)
• Trojan keys to a victory (Reign of Troy)
• Time to get the USC offense rolling (Conquest Chronicles)
• Embrace the Underdog Trojans (Conquest Chronicles)
• Tonight’s the night (Dan Weber – USCFootball.com)
• ASU keys to victory (Devils in Detail)
• ASU scouting report on Cody Kessler (Devils in Detail)
• ASU scouting report on Tre Madden (Devils in Detail)

When USC has the ball:

USC offense: SE Nelson Agholor #15LT Chad Wheeler #72LG Max Tuerk #75C Marcus Martin #66RG John Martinez #59RT Kevin Graf #77TE Xavier Grimble #86FL Marqise Lee #9QB Cody Kessler #6FB Jahleel Pinner #38HB Tre Madden #23

ASU defense: NG Marcus Hardison #12DT Will Sutton #90DE Gannon Conway #95SLB Anthony Jones #31MLB Steffon Martin #2OLB Carl Bradford #52WLB Chris Young #21CB Osahon Irabor #24SS Alden Darby #4FS Robert Nelson #9CB Lloyd Carrington #17

When ASU has the ball:

ASU offense:XWR Jaelen Strong #21YWR Kevin Ozier #82ZWR Richard Smith #3LT Evan Finkenbrg #62LG Jamil Douglas #74C Kody Koebensky #67RG Vi Teofilo #73RT Tyler Sulka #54TE Darwin Rogers #17YTE Chris Coyle #87OB Taylor Kelly #10TB Marion Grice #1RB D.J. Foster #8

USC defense: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 Demetrius Wright #24SS Su’a Cravens #21CB Josh Shaw #26

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How will USC fare in the desert?  Will the Trojan offense rise to the occasion?  Will the defense be relied on to win another game?

Join the game-long discussion in the comments section and make your opinion heard!