A few things to watch in Week 2 of the Pac-12 Conference football season:
GAME OF THE WEEK: No. 17 Southern California at No. 10 Stanford. The conference season kicks off with a marquee game between AP Top 25 teams. The Cardinal opened the season with a lopsided win over San Diego State despite a quiet game from Bryce Love. The 2017 Heisman Trophy runner-up was held to 29 yards on 18 carries, so the Cardinal took to the air in the 31-10 victory . USC started a true freshman at quarterback in its opener for the second time in the program’s storied history and JT Daniels didn’t disappoint. Daniels threw for a TD and helped the Trojans overcome a sluggish performance and defeat UNLV 43-21 . This is a game you won’t want to miss.
MATCHUP OF THE WEEK: No. 15 Michigan State at Arizona State. The Sun Devils kicked off the Herm Edwards era with a resounding win, jumping on UTSA early on the way to a 49-7 victory . Arizona State should face a much higher level of competition against Michigan State, despite the Spartans’ struggles to put away Utah State last week. Michigan State trailed the Aggies in the fourth quarter and needed a TD with 2 minutes left to pull out the 38-31 victory . Michigan State has one of the nation’s stingiest defenses and Arizona State can put up points in a hurry, so this will be a battle of strengths. Arizona State also is 9-0 against Big Ten opponents in Tempe.
NUMBERS GAME: The Pac-12 went 8-4 the opening weekend. … USC kicker Chase McGrath tied the school record with five field goals in last week’s win over UNLV. … Colorado LB Nate Landman had quite a game against Colorado State last week, finishing with 16 tackles, including two for losses, and an interception.
UPSET WATCH: California at Brigham Young. The Cougars are slightly favored in Saturday’s game due to playing at home and their road win over Arizona to open the season. But the Bears have the type of defense that can limit the Cougars after forcing four interceptions and mostly shutting down North Carolina’s offense in a season-opening 24-17 victory .
IMPACT PERFORMER: Stanford WR JJ Arcega-Whiteside. With San Diego State expending most of its energy to stop Love, Stanford’s senior receiver found a lot of room in the Aztecs’ secondary. Arcega-Whiteside had 226 yards receiving and scored three TDs on just six receptions.
—
Compiled by AP Sports Writer John Marshall in Phoenix.
—
More AP college football: https://apnews.com/tag/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25
25% Bonus via Western Union
