USC is looking to win its first conference championship since 2011 while Stanford is trying to win its 4th conference title in seven years, extending their decade long dominance over the PAC-12 conference.

The No. 10 USC Trojans (10-2, 8-1 Pac-12 South) meets the 12th-ranked Stanford Cardinal (9-3, 7-2 Pac-12 North) in the Pac-12 Championship Game tonight at 5 p.m. PST at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif, and in front of a national ESPN television audience. The Trojans opened up as a 3.5 point favorite according to the line at Westgate Las Vegas.  Interestingly, USC will be searching for its first Pac-12 title crown since the league expanded in 2011. Stanford is going for its second Pac-12 title in three years.

Although the Pac-12 Championship game does not have any playoff ramifications, it’s still a very intriguing game featuring a matchup between an athletic Trojans team and a physically imposing Stanford squad.  The winner will have to be satisfied with a berth in one of the New Year’s Six bowls, either the Fiesta (most likely), Peach or Cotton. The game will also feature two of the sport’s most dynamic players in USC quarterback Sam Darnold and Stanford running back Bryce Love.

The Pac-12 Championship game in Santa Clara is a rematch from a September 9th matchup where the Trojans routed the Cardinal in the Colosseum 42-24.  Darnold had one of his best games of the year, throwing for 316 yards on 21-26 passing with 4 touchdowns. In addition, Jones and Stephen Carr combined to rush for over 200 yards. However, I expect this game to be a lot more competitive than the September 9th meeting between the two teams.

Stanford has conducted one of the best in-season turnarounds in college football this season. After starting the season at 1-2, they have won eight of their last nine games, and are coming off a 38-20 victory over eighth ranked Notre Dame.  A Lot of Stanford’s success can be credited to the play of redshirt freshmen QB KJ Costello. Costello replaced senior Keller Chryst halfway through the season due to injury. Since then, Costello has taken the QB job and hasn’t looked back. He had two great performances against top 10 teams, passing for 211 yards against Washington, and 4 touchdown passes against Notre Dame. Costello has given Stanford a passing threat that has opened up running lanes and released pressure off of star running back Bryce Love. In addition, the Stanford run defense has improved dramatically, climbing to 69th in the country and the Cardinal held Notre Dame’s top rusher Josh Adams to 49 yards and 2.5 per carry.

On the other hand, the USC Trojans were not able to fulfill their playoff expectations after getting blown out twice on the road against Washington St and Notre Dame. Aside from those two performances, USC has played really well.  Although all the USC hype has surrounded top QB prospect Sam Darnold, the performance of running back Ronald Jones has flown under the radar. Jones has arguably been USC’s MVP, rushing for 1346 yards on the season and 16 touchdowns. In addition, he has forced more missed tackles than every running back not named Bryce Love. Jones has been a workhorse back during the Trojan’s late season resurgence, averaging 168.4 yards per game.  Slowing down Ronald Jones should be the Stanford defense’s number one priority.  USC has shown when the offense is clicking on all cylinders it cannot be stopped.

In addition, one of the brightest developments of the season has been increased development of  young freshmen receivers Tyler Vaughns and Michael Pittman for USC. Tyler Vaughns has stepped up as a consistent No. 2 target behind Deontay Burnett, catching 48 passes for 664 yards with four touchdowns. Pittman is a big wide receiver that has become a threat in the passing attack, and Darnold has thrown to Pittman in big situations- making 8 of his 13 catches during the the last 4 games on third down. USC’s leading receiver, Deontay Burnett,  may be the most  versatile pass catcher in all of college football, catching 73 passes for 963 yards and 9 touchdowns. USC has a scary aerial assault that is complemented with a dominant rushing game.

Although there are no playoff berths on the line, expect both these teams to be pumped up for this game. Stanford has won the conference three times in the past six years and are they are looking to extend their dominant reign on the conference. USC fell short of the hype of playoff expectations, but Clay Helton still has the responsibility of delivering a conference championship back to Southern California. USC can solidify a successful season by winning their first Pac-12 championship in six years. Winning a conference championship is a major step of bringing the USC brand back to prominence. The PAC-12 North is 6-0 all time in conference championship games. Look for USC to change that friday night.