USC Football’s Pac-12 Rooting Guide: Bye Week Edition

There won’t be any USC football played on Saturday, as the Trojans are on their only bye week of the season. However, Pac-12 play is starting to heat up.

The Trojans are currently 1-1 in the Pac-12 and sit behind UCLA and Utah in the Pac-12 South, meaning they have rooting interests.

Who should they pull for to help them get to the Pac-12 Championship Game in Santa Clara? Here’s a run down of the week’s action and how it affects USC.

Arizona State at UCLA

Kickoff: 4:30 p.m. PT on FOXLine: UCLA -13.5F/+ Projection: UCLA 36.9, ASU 21.4

Who USC needs to win: After the Trojans got off the snide with a big 42-14 win over ASU in Tempe last week, they’ll now be looking for Todd Graham’s Sun Devils to pick themselves off the mat in the same fashion. USC has the tiebreaker over them, meaning the Trojans will gladly welcome all Arizona State wins going forward, as long their conference record is not better. The road team has won the last three meetings and Arizona State bounced back in dramatic fashion last year against USC the week after getting blown out at home by UCLA. Could the reverse ring true on Saturday? It’s possible, but it’ll be an uphill battle for ASU.

Arizona at Stanford

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. PT on Pac-12 NetworksLine: Stanford -13.5F/+ Projection: Stanford 43.3, Arizona 22.3

Who USC needs to win: With Stanford in the North and Arizona in the South, the Trojans are rooting for the Cardinal to continue their hot play with another win. Not only would it strap a boulder to the Wildcats in the Pac-12 South standings with an 0-2 start, but if USC is to salvage their playoff hopes, they need Stanford to keep winning.

Oregon at Colorado

Kickoff: 7:00 p.m. PT on ESPNLine: Oregon -7.5F/+ Projection: Oregon 34.8, Colorado 27.0

Who USC needs to win: Colorado is in the South, so a loss to the North certainly doesn’t hurt USC. And much like with Stanford, the Trojans will be rooting heavily for Oregon to right the ship after their blowout loss to Utah. The Ducks were supposed to be the biggest fish on the schedule, and a quality opponent that USC would need on the resume. Can they turn it around?

Washington State at Cal

Kickoff: 1:00 p.m. PT on Pac-12 NetworksLine: Cal -18F/+ Projection: Cal 43.3, Washington State 19.6

Who USC needs to win: The air raid showdown in Berkeley is a North vs. North matchup, which won’t have any affect on the Trojans in Pac-12 play. USC does play Cal later this month however. If the Bears win and get to 5-0, that will improve the Trojans’ strength of schedule.