What USC needs to do to beat Utah State tonight in the Coliseum

Today, USC opens up its home slate by hosting Utah State in the Coliseum. It is a game that the No. 13 Trojans are expected to win handily.

What's more, this is the final tuneup for Lincoln Riley's team before opening Big Ten play at Michigan in two weeks. That's why it will be important for USC to play a focused and sharp game even though tonight's opponent shouldn't pose too much of a threat.

Utah State is in an odd situation in 2024. Remember that the Aggies had to fire their head coach Blake Anderson in July which is terrible timing for any college football program. Anderson was accused of improperly handling accusations of domestic violence against one of his players including contacting the alleged victim and failing to properly report the incident.

In his place, interim head coach Nate Dreiling has taken over a tough situation. To his credit, he did get his team off to a 1-0 start by leading the Aggies to a 36-14 win over FCS opponent Robert Morris in week one.

However, to take down USC will require a near miracle for the Aggies. That's something that USU has never done in six all-time tries in this series.

Of course, the Trojans are huge favorites today but still, they will have to take care of business tonight before embarking on an open week. So let's look at what USC must do to keep this game from being too close for comfort.

USC needs to start fast

Though this game isn't necessarily a marquee matchup, the Coliseum should be rocking when the game starts. That's because the Trojan fan base will be eager to welcome home their conquering heroes following last week's thrilling victory over LSU.

Therefore, Riley's team needs to get off to a fast start and put Utah State on its heels early. Often, when a huge underdog finds a way to keep a game close or even pull off the upset, it is because the favorite is sluggish or careless out of the gates.

Back in 2013, when USC beat Utah State only 17-14, the Trojans were slow to get going. They punted on three of their first four drives and led only 14-7 at the break.

Therefore, the Aggies' confidence grew by leaps and bounds with every possession, and as a result, the Trojans had to thwart a late Utah State drive to take the lead, one that got all the way to the USC 41 before sputtering out.

Today, USC needs to be aggressive early. Riley must use his massive athletic advantage on offense to try to get some easy and early scores to let Utah State know that it has no chance of pulling off the improbable upset.

USC must make Utah State throw the ball

Coming into this game, Utah State has a quarterback conundrum. That's because starting QB Spencer Petras sprained his ankle in the first half of the week-one win. He was seen in a walking boot on the sidelines in the second half and his status for tonight's game is in doubt.

Thus, the Aggies had to turn to backup Bryson Barnes to finish out their season-opening win. Now, it looks like a game-time decision to see which player will start vs. the Trojans.

Petras, a super-senior transfer from Iowa appears to be the better passer. Last Saturday, he completed 10-15 passes for 145 yards and a TD but he was picked off twice.

Barnes, meanwhile, was just 11-21 passing for 198 yards with two TDs and one pick. However, he also ran for 88 yards and a score as he brought to the table something that Petras can't.

Regardless of who plays QB, though, the Aggies are going to try to run the ball tonight. Against Robert Morris, they piled up 303 yards on 31 carries. That's 9.8 per rush.

Petras was the leading rusher for the day, tied with RB Robert Briggs Jr. who also had 88 yards. Meanwhile, Rahsul Fasion had 78 yards on 12 carries.

The game plan for the Aggies is simple. Try to run the ball and keep the high-powered USC offense on the sidelines. That will also keep them from having to put the game in the hands of their quarterbacks.

So USC should load the box and force a suspect Utah State passing attack to prove that it can win the game tonight. If the Trojans can stop the run, they will liekly stop the Aggies from playing the type of game they must play in order to hang around.

USC needs to establish its own ground game

On the other side of the football, it would be nice to see USC establish its own ground game. Last week, the Trojans ran for only 69 yards on 23 carries. That's just 3.0 yards per rush.

Some of that had to do with the LSU defense, which was selling out to stop the run. But some of those struggles might have also been due to the reworked USC offensive line, which featured a number of new starters in new positions.

Offensive lines often take a game or two to gel so look to see if there is improvement in that area tonight against a less talented defense. Last week, Utah State allowed Robert Morris to run for 137 yards and a touchdown so it is hard to imagine they will be able to stop the USC ground game.

As Big Ten play arrives, USC will have to be balanced on offense. The Trojans can't run through their conference schedule by being a one-trick pony, no matter how good that trick may be.

So this week, USC needs to find its ground game. That will not necessarily be imperative to beat Utah State but to win games down the road in the rugged Big Ten. But finding your footing against an inferior team might be the perfect way to get the rushing attack going.