BCS Predictions: Why USC Will Spoil the Party for Stanford and Oregon

When the first BCS Standings of the season are released Sunday night, the Top 10 will be littered with unbeaten schools that will make their case to be higher in the standings.

The Pac-12 Conference has a pair of schools that will be in this position.

One of those schools is Stanford. The Cardinal entered Saturday unbeaten, and have one of the best players in the nation in Andrew Luck.

Another school, Oregon, will also make the case that they should be higher in the standings. While saddled with an opening week loss, the Ducks may be able to make a case.

But there is a lot of football to be played between now and January, and both Stanford and Oregon have another thing in common. They both still have to get by USC.

While the Trojans really don't have much to play for when it comes to rankings this year, they do have an opportunity to play spoiler for both Stanford and Oregon, which is an opportunity they relish.

USC is the least talked-about 5-1 team in the country and are beginning to reach their potential offensively. After a pair of lousy games defensively, the Trojans' effort Thursday night was more like what we had come to expect from USC.

They come close to matching the talent level of both Stanford and Oregon on both sides of the ball, and with Matt Barkley under center, USC has an experienced leader capable of winning big games.

USC gets Stanford first in two weeks. That one will be at home for USC and will feature the must-see quarterback battle between Barkley and Luck.  While the Stanford defense may be a little better right now in terms of numbers, they haven't had to deal with playmakers like wide receiver Robert Woods yet.

The tougher test for USC will come three weeks after that when the Trojans head to Oregon. The Ducks just don't make a habit of losing at home, or losing in the conference for that matter, but all streaks eventually come to an end.

The Trojans certainly have the talent to beat Oregon, but whether they execute like that team on both sides of the ball is a totally different story.

So, while teams like Stanford and Oregon are playing to try and reach a BCS bowl, don't forget about USC, who's simply out to spoil the party for everyone else on their schedule.