Arizona vs. USC score predictions

Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images

Will the Wildcats finally take down the Trojans?

The Arizona Wildcats (4-2, 2-1) will take on the USC Trojans (3-3, 2-1) on Saturday in Los Angeles, a matchup that is usually easy to predict.

The Trojans have won six straight against the Wildcats dating back to 2013, and the last time Arizona was victorious at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum was 2009 when Nick Foles was the starting quarterback.

The teams enter Saturday’s rematch tied atop the Pac-12 South standings but the Trojans are a double-digit favorite, so oddsmakers doesn’t expect there to be any slump-busting by the Wildcats.

Will they be right? Here are our predictions. Be sure to leave yours in the comment section below!

Ronnie Stoffle — USC wins 42-34

It would not shock me if Arizona wins this game. I don’t see it happening. In spite of a 3-3 record, USC is still very talented, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Their receiving corps is likely the best in the conference and is higher end on the national scale as well.

The Trojans are facing a few key injuries on defense which should help UA stay in the game. This game has major implications for the Pac-12 South and both teams’ bowl-game chances. Unfortunately, I just think the bottom line is USC is at home and they’re more talented.

Christian Mortensen — USC wins 35-24

I’ve picked Arizona to win each one of its games so far this season, and even though I got the Hawaii game wrong, it hasn’t really come back to bite me in the a** until the Wildcats were blown out by Washington this last weekend.

Deep down I knew the Huskies were probably going to end UA’s four-game winning streak, but I got swept up in the emotions of the win at Colorado and picked the Cats against my better judgment anyway.

I’ve vowed to not make that same mistake this weekend, and with the USC’s true freshman quarterback Kedon Slovis seemingly coming into his own, I expect the Trojans’ passing offense to take advantage of an Arizona passing defense that is currently ranked 11th in the Pac-12.

While I wouldn’t necessarily be surprised if the Wildcats come away with a win considering SC is banged up defensively and something tells me that Khalil Tate is going to have a good game, the fact of the matter is that Arizona hasn’t won at the Colosseum since 2009 and the Trojans are loaded with offensive threats to more than offset their poor health defensively.

I see next weekend at Stanford as the game the Wildcats are more likely to win from this two-game California road trip.

Gabe Encinas — USC wins 45-17

Arizona usually plays USC pretty tough compared to expectations, but I feel this is a game that will end up with severe let down, much like the second half of the Washington game.

This team had been playing out of its mind from weeks 3-6 relative to where it started the season, but things started to slowly breakdown against Washington.

I feel like Arizona’s high is slowly starting to die down, losing momentum as we enter the meat of the schedule.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Arizona made this a close game like usual, but I think this is will be a big disappointment from the start.

Adam Green — USC wins 37-27

If Arizona plays as poorly as it did against Washington, this will be a blowout. Simply put, the Wildcats aren’t talented enough to beat good teams if they do not at least play a decent game.

Rest assured, while this isn’t your classic USC team, they are still plenty capable of putting on a show. The question for me is about how Arizona will respond to its humbling loss to the Huskies.

Will Khalil Tate be focused and effective? Will the defense find the form it displayed the previous three games and, if not stop the Trojans, at least minimize the damage?

If so, Arizona may pull off the upset. But it would be foolish to bank on those things happening, which is why I just can’t predict the upset.

Brian J. Pedersen — USC wins 38-30

Khalil Tate was 11 years old the last time Arizona won at USC, just let that sink in a bit. Then come back to reality knowing that this is his last chance to win a game in his hometown (unless Arizona can somehow make the Rose Bowl) during his college career.

This isn’t a vintage USC team, in terms of performance, but it still has a massive talent advantage over the Wildcats. On occasion in the past they have managed to overcome this, like last year at home against Oregon, but last week’s loss to Washington showed that Arizona is still a big step behind the upper echelon of the Pac-12, and this game figures to further that.

The most promising thing that can come from this game for Arizona is that it’s not blown out like it was so often on the road last season. Being competitive, even in defeat, at least gives hope that a win can come next week against arguably the worst Stanford team in more than a decade.

Matthew Rein — USC wins 31-28

We have heard the same story about USC and Arizona for the past two decades. That the Trojans are stronger, faster, bigger, better. The games, for the most part, have backed this up. Arizona has only beaten USC twice since 2001.

Gearing up for the game Saturday, the story remains roughly the same. USC has better athletes, talent, and the home field advantage. With that being said, I’d venture to say Arizona finds a way to stay in the game until the end.

This team is scrappy. The Cats will cut down on turnovers, and Tate will be better. It still won’t be enough.

USC wins on a game winning field goal.

Ryan Kelapire — USC wins 38-21

I have a feeling Arizona is going to get off to a slow start, trailing something like 14-0 out of the gate before they start to get going.

Maybe Arizona will make a game of it at some point, but I expect the Trojans to take care of business. USC’s defense might not be at its best because of injuries, but I don’t the offense will have trouble moving the ball. USC’s offensive line should be able to own the trenches and the Trojans have a deep, versatile group of running backs.

I am most interested in seeing how the Wildcats use Grant Gunnell now that we know the coaching staff isn’t concerned about his redshirt.

from Arizona Desert Swarm - All Posts https://ift.tt/2qtwx8N
via IFTTT