Stanford vs. USC: TV Info, Spread, Injury Updates, Game Time and More

Both the USC Trojans and No. 5 Stanford Cardinal are red hot going into their Pac-12 clash on Saturday.

The 7-3 Trojans have now won four of five since Lane Kiffin's dismissal with Ed Orgeron assuming control. Most recently, quarterback Cody Kessler and the offense put a 62-28 beatdown on California.

Things have been even better for the Cardinal. Last week, Stanford upset then-ranked No. 3 Oregon to move to 8-1 and remain on track to host a second-consecutive Pac-12 title game.

Plenty is on the line in the conference when these two foes take the field. Stanford has won four straight and three in a row at USC, but anything is possible between these two.

Here is a full breakdown.

When: Saturday, Nov. 16 at 8:00 p.m. ET

Where: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA

Television: ABC

Live Stream: ESPN3

Betting Lines (via Vegas Insider)

• Over/Under: 46
• Spread: Stanford (-4)

Cardinal Injury Report (via USA Today)

Player	Pos.	Date	Details	Status	Injury
Tyler Gaffney	RB	11/11/2013	is questionable for Saturday's game against USC	Questionable	head
Ben Gardner	DE	10/29/2013	will miss the remainder of the season	Out	torn pectoral muscle
Ikenna Nwafor	DT	09/20/2013	is out indefinitely	Out	undisclosed

Trojans Injury Report (via USA Today)

Player	Pos.	Date	Details	Status	Injury
Zach Banner	OL	09/27/2013	will miss the remainder of the season	Out	hip
Gerald Bowman	S	10/24/2013	will miss the remainder of the season	Out	shoulder
Morgan Breslin	LB	11/11/2013	will miss the remainder of the season	Out	hip
Anthony Brown	CB	11/11/2013	is questionable for Saturday's game against Stanford	Questionable	knee
Justin Davis	RB	10/24/2013	will miss the remainder of the season	Out	ankle
Lamar Dawson	LB	10/24/2013	will miss the remainder of the season	Out	knee
Tre Madden	RB	11/11/2013	is expected to miss Saturday's game against Stanford	Out	leg
Steven Mitchell	WR	08/08/2013	will miss the entire season	Out	knee
D.J. Morgan	RB	11/01/2013	will miss the remainder of the season	Out	knee
Silas Redd	RB	11/11/2013	is questionable for Saturday's game against Stanford	Questionable	knee
Taylor Ross	RB	11/11/2013	is questionable for Saturday's game against Stanford	Questionable	leg
Devian Shelton	CB	09/27/2013	will miss the remainder of the season	Out	foot
Jordan Simmons	G	10/23/2013	will miss the remainder of the season	Out	leg
Shane Sullivan	TE	10/27/2013	will miss the remainder of the season	Out	knee
Randall Telfer	TE	11/11/2013	is questionable for Saturday's game against Stanford	Questionable	knee
Greg Townsend Jr	DL	09/27/2013	will miss the remainder of the season	Out	knee
Leonard Williams	DE	11/12/2013	is probable for Saturday's game against Stanford	Probable	shoulder

Can the Trojans Stunt Tyler Gaffney?

Stanford senior running back Tyler Gaffney has made it look easy all season long. Gaffney saved his best act for when his team needed it most last week in the major upset as illustrated by ESPN:

If USC didn't know before, it does now—Gaffney is the key to a win over the Cardinal.

In six of nine games this year, Gaffney has 100 or more yards, and he's scored more than once in four games. On the year, Gaffney has 1,043 yards and 13 touchdowns on a 4.9 average.

Gaffney makes life easy for quarterback Kevin Hogan, who completes over 60 percent of his passes and has 13 touchdowns to five interceptions.

USC has allowed just one back to go over the 100-yard mark in 10 games (Ka'Deem Carey of Arizona), but Gaffney is more than up to the task. If he can, the Trojans are in trouble. 

Prediction

The Kessler-led USC offense has the look of an unstoppable unit with 988 total yards and 93 points in its last two games.

One problem—Oregon was once considered unstoppable as well.

USC has just inside a top-50 rushing attack, but Oregon had a top 10 rank last week. Stanford held the Ducks to just 62 yards on the ground, their lowest total since 2009.

The Trojans have not won against ranked opposition since November 2011, and that won't change here as Stanford uses an elite defense and solid ground game to grind out the win.

Final Score 

Cardinal win 28-17

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