Confident Stanford Heads South To Face USC

Stanford's Bryce Love will be the focus of USC's defense

 USC is a chic pick to make a the College Football Playoff, and why not?

 The sixth-ranked Trojans have another poster boy quarterback in redshirt sophomore Sam Darnold, speed and quickness at the skill positions and a defense made of prep All-Americas. Add in the clutch comeback in last year's Rose Bowl win over Penn State, and it all adds up.

 Just don't tell No. 14 Stanford, because the Cardinal come into Tinseltown brimming with confidence after an opening week bludgeoning of Rice, and three straight wins over the Trojans. In fact, Stanford has fairly mastered USC, winning seven of the last nine meetings.

 It's no secret what the game plan is -- play physical, smashmouth football to perfection, with a lightning quick running back -- this year Bryce Love, the last few seasons Christian McCaffrey -- a mistake-free quarterback and an offensive line in which all five players play as one.

 USC allowed 263 rushing yards in a 49-31 victory over Western Michigan last weekend, which has coach Clay Helton more than a bit worried.

 "That's as good a running game as we may face, them and Stanford in back-to-back weeks, and we've got some things we need to clean up defensively," Helton said. USC often was too aggressive attacking the Broncos ground game, leaving open cutback lanes to take advantage of. Love gained 180 yards against Rice, and stymied the Owls with amazing cutbacks and stop-on-a-dime change of direction. If the Trojans don't get that fixed, Love will run wild.

 Helton knows that the running game shapes the outcome, and he leaned on something he was told early in his coaching career.

 "Games are won by running the ball, stopping the run, not turning it over and playing great special teams," Helton said. "They are the best in our league at running the ball, year in and year out."

 Stanford won't be afraid to throw the football, but with quarterback Keller Chryst still finding a rhythm after offseason surgery, you can bet the Cardinal will manage the game mostly on the ground. That means a busy day for USC linebackers Cameron Smith and Porter Gustin.

Ronald Jones II makes USC's ground game him (Getty Images)

 While Darnold grabs the headlines, rightfully, for USC, running back Ronald Jones II doesn't need to take a back seat to anyone. He scored three touchdowns and averaged 8.8 ypc against Western Michigan, scoring the go-ahead touchdown with just under seven minutes to play.

 Stanford coach David Shaw says that stopping Jones II will have to be a team effort.

 "You gotta brings your friends because the first guy might not be able to get him down," Shaw said.

 Shaw also knows that even if Jones II gets his yardage, Stanford will need to concentrate on Darnold.

 "He's the best quarterback in the country in my opinion," Shaw said. "He doesn't get rattled, he likes the big occasion. We definitely have to try to disrupt him as much as we can or else it will be a long night."

 Darnold threw for 289 yards, 142 of those going to Deontay Burnett. Stanford safety Quenton Meeks and his secondary mates will need to keep tabs on Burnett, who has shown the ability to be a deep threat.

 In this day and age of tempo, Stanford is a throwback. The Cardinal are deliberate, physical and not afraid to stay within their identity. They don't get thrown off kilter on offense, and are able to brush off a three-and-out series with an even demeanor. Shaw has done a masterful job continuing what Jim Harbaugh started, and he has turned Stanford into a true program.

 We'll know around midnight whether or not that program is the best in the Pac-12, or if the star-studded Trojans have the requisite toughness to protect their home turf.

College Football Focus Studs And Duds Week 1

 Each Sunday, College Football Focus will take a look at the good and bad of the college football weekend, listing three studs and three duds.

 With limited menu options from the opening weekend, we had to get a little creative.

There was a lot of celebrating by Stanford, which blasted Rice 62-7 in Australia (News & Observer)

Studs
Stanford's offense -- The Cardinal scored 62 points against Rice, the most in a season opener since 1968 (68-20 over San Jose State), and piled up 656 yards of offense. That's a stark contrast to last season, when Stanford was held to six points in an upset loss to Northwestern. Stanford had balance (37 passes, 36 rushes) and explosiveness, averaging nine yards per play, and running back Bryce Love was a revelation, finishing with 180 yards and a touchdown on just 13 carries. His play was almost enough to make fans forget about the departed Christian McCaffrey.

Colorado State -- The Rams opened a brand-new, 41,000-seat on-campus stadium in style, putting up 58 points on Oregon State and showing that they will definitely be a factor in the Mountain West race. QB Nick Stevens was stellar, tossing for 334 yards and three touchdowns, but it was an 44-yard interception return by Tre Thomas that put CSU up 34-20 and broke things open.

BYU DL Sione Takitaki -- The junior was all over the field early, creating havoc for a Portland State team that hung around longer than expected. The Cougars won in fairly uninspiring fashion, 20-6, but Takitaki was a one-man wrecking crew, finishing with seven stops, three tackles for loss and a pair of sacks.

Duds
Oregon State -- Gary Andersen was optimistic that his team could maybe make some waves in the Pac-12 this season, but after allowing 58 points to Colorado State and scoring just seven points after halftime, Anderson has to be worried about his season -- hyperbole, maybe, but the upcoming schedule offers little relief. Portland State -- no soft touch, as BYU found out -- comes in next weekend, and then it's Minnesota after that. Then the real fun begins -- at Wazzu, hosting Washington, at USC and hosting Colorado and Stanford. It's easy to see why the Beavers were pointing to the CSU game as important, because it's not impossible that they begin the year 1-7. We'll know more about them after the next couple of games, and maybe CSU was just better. But few -- least of all Anderson -- thought the Rams were 31 points better.


San Jose State -- The Spartans grabbed a 16-0 first quarter lead over a somnambulistic South Florida team before having their doors blown off in a 42-22 rout. What's worse is that San Jose State never really threatened after that first quarter, getting an oh-by-the-way touchdown midway through the fourth quarter. The defense allowed 315 rushing yards, and South Florida ran a school-record 101 plays. South Florida converted two of its three interceptions into scoring drives.

Rice quarterbacks -- The Owls knew they were in for a rough one going against a very good Stanford squad, but it still had to be disappointed with the play of quarterbacks Sam Glaesmann and Jackson Tyner. The pair combined to go just 10-of-24 for 95 yards and two interceptions, were sacked twice and hurried or hit numerous other times. Glaesmann had a QBR of 4.3 while Tyner's was 1.3 -- numbers that aren't going to win a lot of contests.

Saturday Morning Take Five

College Football Week 1 Picks

 Hello, friends. It's Saturday morning, which means kickoff for college football is just hours (or minutes, depending on when you are reading this) away.

 Our Saturday routine will be to make picks of the top five games of the weekend -- hence, the nifty Take Five name -- via video, with the games noted below. We will also predict remaining top 25 games, as well as big matchups outside of the top 25. We will be making the selections against the pointspread, though we will say this is for informational purposes only, as we know that betting on games is a bad, bad thing.

 There are only four games this weekend that match FBS teams, so we will skip the Brigham Young-Portland State contest.

 We will present some pointspread figures here, but the picks will be made in the video above.

 Oregon State at Colorado State (-4) --Oregon State is 26-17 as an away dog L/10 years, but just 5-9 L/3. Oregon State has covered three of last four road openers as a dog. CSU is 9-4 ATS at home the last three seasons, including 4-0-1 in the last five (including a 51 point spread vs. Savannah State, CSU won 65-13). The Rams are also a nifty 5-2 as home faves under third-year coach Mike Bobo.

Hawai'i at UMass (-2) -- UH is 21-23 as an away dog L/10 years, but 3-2 in road openers the last five seasons. UMass has been a home favorite just nine times since the move to FBS, going 5-4 ATS, and was not a favorite in a single game in 2016. The Minutemen are 12-16 ATS in non-conference games, and lost by six on the road against Hawai'i last year as a seven-point dog. UMass is 19-17 ATS three years into Mark Whipple's second stint as head coach.

South Florida at San Jose State (+22) -- USF is just 10-17 as a road favorite the last 10 seasons, but 5-3 in that role the last three years. The Bulls have been favored by 20+ points in their last five season openers, going 2-3, and losing outright on the road against McNeese State in 2013. The Spartans are 1-3 ATS their last four vs. AAC teams, but 24-20 in non-league contests ATS the last 10 years. SJSU is 2-3 L3Y as double digit home dogs.

Stanford vs. Rice (+30.5) -- Stanford is 6-1-2 ATS in neutral site games, including 3-0-1 the L3Y. The Cardinal are just 2-2 as a favorite of 30 points or more the last five seasons, including failing to cover vs. Rice at home last year. Rice is 4-3 in neutral site contests, but has played just one in the last three seasons. The Owls are 7-3-3 the L3Y vs. non-conference teams, and 3-2 in games where they were underdogs of at least 30 points in that span.

College Football 2017 -- Week 1 By The Numbers

 Let Sports Illustrated and Fox Sports and whoever else tell you that Sept. 2 is week one of college football.

 We know the REAL truth -- this weekend, even with a limited slate of games -- is the actual kickoff of the 2017 college football season. And a glorious thing it is.

 Every Friday during the season, we will delve into the best matchups and provide some entertaining, possibly relevant, numbers and facts. Things we find interesting about the matchup, which may or may not have any bearing on the outcome. All games are Aug. 26th.

 Oregon State at Colorado State, 2:30 pm
 Oregon State is just 21-36 on the road the last 10 seasons, but has gone 20-15 in non-conference games; Beavers coach Gary Andersen is 1-1 vs. CSU from his time as head coach of Utah State. OSU is just the fourth Power 5 school to visit Fort Collins since 2004; Colorado State is 20-3 in home openers, and is working on a streak of four straight; CSU is 13-4 at home the last three seasons, but just 8-6 against non-league competition; The Rams offense has allowed just 30 sacks total over the last two seasons.

 Portland State at Brigham Young, 3 pm
 Portland State lost its FBS games last year, to San Jose State and Washington, by an average of 35 ppg; Neil Lomax is probably the most famous player from PSU, and notable head coaches include Mouse Davis, Pokey Allen and Jerry Glanville; Brigham Young is 9-0 vs. FCS programs since 2005, winning by an average of 42 ppg; The Cougars are 12-4 in home openers since 2000, with just one game coming against an FCS team

 Hawai'i at UMass, 6 pm
Hawai'i is coming off a seven-win season, which included a bowl game win over Middle Tennessee; the Rainbow Warriors are just 4-18 in their last 22 road openers, and have dropped six straight by an average of 23 ppg; Hawai'i's 58.7 completion percentage was its highest since 2011 (60.0); UMass has not had a winning season since transitioning to FBS in 2011, with its best win total -- three games -- coming in 2014 and 2015. UMass was -10 in turnovers last season; Dick MacPherson is among the men who have prowled the sidelines in Amherst, winning 45 games in seven seasons.

 South Florida at San Jose State, 7:30 pm
 USF is 8-12 in road openers, and its victory over Syracuse last year snapped a three-game skein; Charlie Strong is just the fourth head coach in school history, following Jim Leavitt, Skip Holtz and Willie Taggart. Only Holtz had a winning record in year one (8-5); The Bulls are +19 in turnovers the past two seasons; USF's 43.8 ppg last year was a school record; San Jose State is 13-2 in its last 15 home openers, but is 6-12 the last four years in non-league action; SJSU allowed 40 or more points six times last season and gave up an average of 5.5 ypc on the ground.

 Stanford vs. Rice, 10 pm (Sydney, Australia) 
The Cardinal have won just twice in six meetings with the Owls, including 23-13 in the last meeting (1963); Stanford is 7-3 in its last 10 road openers, but its last two losses came as a ranked team; Stanford's 26.3 ppg last year were the lowest of the David Shaw era (six seasons), and the 34 sacks allowed was the highest total in that span; Rice has one of the lowest enrollments in all of FBS (6,628); The Owls are 0-26 since 1998 vs. ranked teams, their last win coming in 1997 over No. 21 BYU; Rice is -19 in turnovers the past two seasons; Rice allowed fewer than 21 points just once all of last season.

CFF 2017 Rankings -- 15-11