The offseason is a time to look ahead to USC’s football schedule for the coming season. After a Week 1 cupcake against Rice which will try to shake off the rust and get players integrated into Lincoln Riley’s system, the training wheels need to come off in Week 2. USC plays Stanford in the typical early-September conference opener. This Pac-12 clash is a must-win game. USC can’t drop this game and expect to win the conference championship.
What’s the early read on this game? One Pac-12 columnist, Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News, is not convinced that Stanford will be able to rebound from last year’s miserable season.
He has Stanford finishing sixth — last — in the Pac-12 North Division:
6. Stanford
Previous: 6
Best case: third
Worst case: sixth
Comment: David Shaw enters his 12th season with a team bearing little resemblance to those of his early years in charge. The Cardinal is low on defensive talent and should lean heavily on the passing game with quarterback Tanner McKee and his array of able pass catchers. But the effectiveness of the previously-dormant running game will determine whether Stanford repeats its last-place finish or climbs to respectability. Suggestions that Shaw’s seat is hot ignore the fact that his job security is akin to that of a tenured professor.
A tenured professor USC will take to school in Week 2.
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