USC vs. ASU Kickoff Time Decision Delayed by FOX

The decision to set a kick off time for the USC vs. ASU game on October 4th at the Coliseum has been delayed, as FOX has put in motion a deferred six-day selection. Either the game will be broadcast on FOX at 4:30 p.m. Pacific, or ESPN at 7:30 p.m Pacific, as reported by Arizona State’s Doug Tammaro.

This means that the announcement will come as late as Sunday, as FOX is awaiting the outcome of this week’s games.

They will pick between Arizona State-USC and Utah-UCLA as the primetime game on FOX, with ESPN getting the leftover.

No. 15 Arizona State hosts 11th ranked UCLA, while No. 18 USC plays at home against Oregon State and Utah duels with Washington State.

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If both USC and ASU win, you can bet that next Saturday’s game will be picked up by FOX, as the Sun Devils would be 4-0 and on the cusp of a Top 10 ranking. However, UCLA and Utah both being 4-0 would make for a more than juicy matchup for FOX.

The Arizona State game will be the Trojans’ second straight conference game at the Coliseum, but marks the first South division game for USC in 2014.

Last year’s match up between the South Division rivals changed the course of USC’s season.

In a shootout which featured fourteen touchdowns and more than 1,000 yards of total offense between the two teams, Arizona State topped the Trojans in Tempe on a furious 3rd quarter scoring push. The Sun Devils scored 28 points following halftime, then withstood a fourth quarter comeback attempt from USC.

The 62-41 loss signaled the end of Lane Kiffin’s tenure as head coach. He was fired and replaced by Ed Orgeron by morning the next day.

Though it’s unlikely the outcome of this year’s game will set off another midseason coaching change, the contest could help set the stage in the South as both Arizona State and USC look to take the driver’s seat in the race to the conference title game.

The Sun Devils face off against UCLA this Thursday in another pivotal division game, while USC will try to move to 2-0 in the conference this Saturday against Oregon State.