The Pac-12’s College Football Playoff hopes are on life support, and unlike last year, it’s going to be hard for the conference to get two teams into New Year’s Six bowls. However, the winner of this game still goes the Rose Bowl.
Stanford vs. USC, 2015 Pac-12 Championship: Time, TV schedule, live stream and 3 things to know
It’s a rematch ... sort of.
Stanford is the favorite, and rightfully so, as the Cardinal handled the Southern Cal Trojans in Los Angeles earlier in the year. The College Football Playoff committee seems to love Stanford, due in part to that win, a win over UCLA and one over Notre Dame. However, the Cardinal also have a 16-6 loss at Northwestern and a loss at Oregon to go along with a near-loss to Washington State. Stanford hasn’t been a juggernaut, and the defense certainly isn’t what it’s been in the past, but the offense is explosive and has responded in a big way since the season opener at Northwestern. Can the USC defense stop it this time around?
That USC team is a lot different than it was when these first teams met. Most importantly, it has a new coach — interim-turned-full-time head coach Clay Helton — who turned the team around after Steve Sarkisian was fired and won the Pac-12 South. This is certainly a flawed team, but it has a ton of talent, particularly on offense, which it used to pummel both Utah and UCLA. This may not be a consistent team, but it’s very dangerous.
How to watch, stream and listen
TV: 7:45 p.m. ET, ESPN
Online streaming: WatchESPN
Spread: Stanford is favored by 4.5 points.
Make friends: Get to SB Nation’s team blog chats for this game at Conquest Chronicles for USC fans and Rule Of Tree for Stanford fans.
Three big things to know
1. Stanford can still technically sneak into the College Football Playoff. However, to do that, it needs either Alabama or Clemson to be upset, and even that might not be enough.
2. No coach should be judged on one game, but given a lot of the skepticism surrounding Helton’s full-time hiring, he could do himself a favor by winning this game. If it’s another blowout loss, people will question him even more.
3. A lot of this game will depend on USC’s consistency. If quarterback Cody Kessler can look like he did against Utah, and if the defense holds up, the Trojans have a great chance to pull the upset.
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