USC vs. ASU: Late night kickoff time set for 2017 game on Oct. 28

The 2017 edition of USC vs. ASU will kickoff after dark with the Pac-12 South matchup airing on ESPN at 7:45 p.m. in Tempe.

The Trojans will have to avoid some pre-Halloween #Pac12AfterDark shenanigans on Oct. 28 when they travel to Tempe to face off with the Sun Devils of Arizona State.

The kickoff time for USC vs. ASU was set on Monday with ESPN putting the game in the 7:45 p.m. time slot.

It is the latest kickoff for a Trojan game in 2017 and the first late night game for USC on a Saturday, as the 7:30 p.m. kickoff against Washington State was on a Friday.

The Trojans have a tough test at No. 13 Notre Dame this weekend before they will be able to look ahead to the road trip to ASU.

Whether or not USC bests the Irish on their home turf, the battle with the Sun Devils will be key towards keeping the Trojans hopes of securing the Pac-12 South division title this season.

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Thanks to a win over Utah, USC is now in poll position to take the division, holding a tiebreaker over the Utes. However, ASU is currently one of just three teams in the South with just one loss in conference. If the Sun Devils survive a trip to Rice-Eccles stadium this weekend, the game between USC and ASU will take on even greater importance in conference.

The series between the Trojans and Sun Devils has been even of late. The two have split the last six games down the middle, but USC has one the two most recent contests by a wide margin.

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This year, the Trojans are certain to be favored over ASU once more. The Sun Devils have performed unexpectedly well in conference, upsetting Washington last week and knocking off Oregon two weeks before that. However, they stand at 3-3 on the year, with losses to San Diego State, Texas Tech and Stanford.