One more thing ...
On offense, Stanford and USC are each led by a future NFL quarterback.
But only one of those teams is balanced in terms of rushing and passing.
Guess which one.
Time’s up. Pencils down.
If you guessed Stanford, grab a cookie from the jar.
The Cardinal’s Andrew Luck has thrown for 20 touchdowns and the team has rushed for 20.
Moreover, as I noted in an earlier entry, Stanford is averaging 219.4 rushing yards a game and 285.4 passing yards a game.
USC, to the contrary, is not so balanced.
The Trojans are a teeter-totter with too much weight on one end –- or at least on Matt Barkley’s arm.
USC is averaging 290.4 passing yards a game and 145.7 rushing yards a game.
And Barkley has thrown 19 touchdowns and the team has run for five.
Only six teams have rushed for fewer touchdowns.
Also, last week was supposed to be a quarterback shootout between Stanford’s Andrew Luck and Washington’s Keith Price.
What happened? Stanford went to the ground and rushed for a school-record 446 yards.
Don’t be surprised if the Cardinal resorts to such tactics against USC, a move that would keep the ball out of Barkley’s hands.
In fact, if I were to make a prediction, that’s what it would be, that Stanford will run all day long.
Why? Because they can control the clock.
Dating to last season, Stanford has held a time of possession edged in 17 of its last 20 games.
This season, the Cardinal ranks second in the Pacific 12 Conference and 21st nationally in that category, holding the ball for an average of 32 minutes a game.
In fact, Stanford led the nation last season in time of possession, holding the ball for an average of 34:34 each game.
Pregame
Greetings, ghouls, goblins, specters, spooks, phantasms, everyone dressed up in Halloween costumes thumbing through mobile devices and all other manner of Internet audience members!
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