SCliff Notes: Peeking Ahead to Arizona and More USC Football News

Can’t get enough USC football? We’ve got your morning dose of all the best content from around the web concerning the men of Troy.

1st & 10:

Peeking Ahead…

[DISCLAIMER] Tomorrow the USC Trojans will face the Arizona State Sun Devils in a pivotal Pac-12 South match up and the focus of the players and coaching staff should absolutely stay on that game. Fans, on the other hand, should be forgiven for looking ahead just a tiny bit.[/DISCLAIMER]

Next week’s game against Arizona just got a whole lot more interesting.

The Wildcats knocked off the No. 2 Oregon Ducks Thursday night, 31-24, and they looked quite good doing it. Anu Solomon, who threw for 286 yards and continued to show off his ability to scramble, looks like the prototypical quarterback to give Trojan defenses nightmares while Terris Jones-Grigsby gave the Ducks fits on the ground and through the air.

Adding to the potential drama, Arizona will have a couple days of extra rest and preparation for USC having played on Thursday.

Arizona’s undefeated record makes the Pac-12 South look all the more competitive with what looks like four legitimate contenders for the top place.

Circling back to what’s right in front of USC, a win over ASU would likely knock the Sun Devils out of contention, but as it turns out the other Arizona school could be the more important of the two.

Who saw that coming?

In Other News…

• Hold your horses on the shiny helmets. Scott Wolf says there was an equipment delay and the changes won’t be debuted until USC plays Colorado. (Daily News)
• That news makes the fifth of our Five Things to Watch For piece obsolete but there’s still four important things to keep an eye out for on Saturday, including Antwaun Woods and his trash-talking buddy Mike Bercovici. (Reign Of Troy)
• Su’a Cravens can probably let his play do all the talking for him after being named the Chuck Bednarik Award Player of the Week. (Reign Of Troy)
• As the Trojans prep for ASU, Steve Sarkisian addressed some areas for improvement after practice Thursday. Penalties were a point of discussion but the head coach has bigger concerns than the refs. (Reign Of Troy)
• Speaking of improvement, Michael Lev took a look at Cody Kessler and the biggest area he’s looking to improve. (OC Register)
• Ted Miller and Kevin Gemmell discussed ASU’s chances of bouncing back against USC. Spoiler: Neither think it’s likely. (ESPN)
• For the enemy perspective, Max Meyer talked to Jeff Metcalfe from azcentral.com about the Sun Devils and their match up with USC. (Neon Tommy)
• Kyle Kensing looks at the game against ASU as a chance for the USC defense to redeem itself after last year’s drubbing. (Bleacher Report)
• As you prep for game day at the Coliseum Saturday, here’s cool video looking back at Oregon State game day from start to finish. (RipsIt Blog)
• USC is being sued by a security guard who was trampled during the post-game rush following the Trojans’ victory over Stanford last year. (Conquest Chronicles)

Stat of the Day:

When Scooby Wright stripped Marcus Mariota late in Thursday night’s game, he made Cody Kessler the only player in college football with 10 touchdowns and no turnovers.

Tweets of the Day: