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USC Trojans vs Arizona State Sun Devils Football Preview

The Coliseum used to present one of the best home-field advantage’s in all of college football this decade.

Now, it’s just another stadium.

One of the most striking differences of Lane Kiffin’s first year from Pete Carroll’s tenure is USC’s record at home. Taking into account the end of Carroll’s last year, the Trojans have lost four of their last seven games in the Coliseum.

USC will try to return to form Saturday when it hosts Arizona State in the last part of a three-game homestand at 7:30 p.m. PDT in Los Angeles.

Coming off a 21-point loss to Oregon, the Trojans are looking to collect themselves for the stretch run of the Pac-10 schedule. USC has found as much success against Arizona State as any conference foe, holding a 10-game winning streak against the Sun Devils.

At 4-4, Arizona State is fighting an uphill battle for bowl eligibility with games at Stanford and Arizona still looming. A win against USC would go a long way toward salvaging the season and taking pressure off of head coach Dennis Erickson.

Uneven seasons have become the norm under Erickson at Arizona State. The Sun Devils came within an extra point of going to overtime on the road at Wisconsin and kept it close against Oregon and Oregon State. But California steamrolled to a 50-17 win against Arizona State two weeks ago.

A 42-0 win last week against Washington State helped build confidence.

Steven Threet has been explosive but turnover-prone. The junior already has 13 interceptions on the year and four multiple interception games.

In all, Arizona State is ranked 107th out of 120 FBS teams in turnover margin.

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The Sun Devils will have to be more careful with the ball than they were last year. A defensive touchdown by Will Harris helped give the Trojans the edge in a 14-9 win. Arizona State had four turnovers. 

USC will also need to protect the ball with Matt Barkley coming off his third multiple interception game of the season. The Sun Devils have the athletes on defense who can make a team pay for a mistake. Arizona State’s defense leads the Pac-10 in tackles for loss. 

Lane Kiffin raved about Omar Bolden and Vontaze Burfict, saying he wished he had both of the Southern California products on his team.  

The Trojans will also need a more consistent effort from their offensive line. After an impressive early season performance, Oregon was able to get constant pressure on Barkley to force errant throws.

Defensive end Junior Onyeali could pose a threat to USC’s plans. The freshman recorded three sacks last week against Washington State en route to being named the Pac-10’s defensive player of the week.

By Mike Schwartz
DFN Sports Staff Writer