USC Football Links: USC/Stanford Matchup

USC/Stanford is just a little over 24 hours away. Hard-hitting, old-school football will be on full display tomorrow when the two old rivals face off. USC is "on track" to have Cody Kessler and Leonard Williams available after injury concerns kept each out of a practice earlier in the week.

We're here to keep you up to date on all the USC-related news, including these most recent articles:

• USC Voted Best College Fan Base By USA TODAY Fan Index
• Playing Stanford Puts Fire In USC's Stomach
• Stanford Week Q/A With The Bootleg
• Trojans Embrace Challenge of Facing Stanford's Offense
• Trojans Prepare For Hostile Environment

Around the web, USC has continued to be a topic of interest nationally leading up to this weekend's big matchup that has College Football Playoff implications. Here's the best USC football stories about current, former and future Trojans:

USC vs. Stanford Matchup

• 6 NFL.com personalities pick the top 10 college games of the Week. USC/Stanford is their No. 2 game behind Michigan State/Oregon and no one thinks the battle on the farm will be decided by more than six points.

• What a great potential matchup: NFL scouts eye Leonard Williams vs. Andrus Peat

  "You ask [the scouts] the question ‘Who is the best offensive player you've seen? Who is the best defensive player you've seen?' ... All of them said Leonard Williams at USC [on defense]. It's not just me, everybody sees it."

• USC/Stanford is one of the hottest tickets this weekend. | Detroit Free Press

• The Pac-12 Is Ready for Its Close-Up | Grantland

  Of the 74 games involving FBS teams this weekend, only two will pit ranked opponents head-to-head, and it’s no coincidence both will unfold in Pac-12 stadiums.

  While the Pac-10, which became the Pac-12 in 2011, has seen its share of great teams, most of them were the same team for the bulk of this century: Between 2003 and 2008, USC ran roughshod, racking up a 45-6 record in conference games and claiming the automatic BCS bid reserved for the conference champion six years in a row.

• USC Trojans-Stanford Cardinal: Still spicy after all these years - ESPN
  There's little love lost between USC and Stanford, whose rivalry has intensified in recent seasons. (Thanks Carroll/Harbaugh and now Sarkisian/Shaw.)

• VIDEO: USC senior linebacker Hayes Pullard: "It's a Great Rivarly" | ATVN

• Five things to watch | Sports | The Olympian
  David Shaw and Steve Sarkisian meet again

• ESPN's Pac-12 Blog gives four Pac-12 players to watch this weekend
  Kevin Gemmell argues for USC's Leonard Williams.

• Recent Stanford Cardinal-USC Trojans madness ('10-'13) - ESPN
  The Stanford-USC game has evolved into one of the best rivalries in the conference, if not the country. It seems like every year both teams up the ante.

• A Q&A we did for Rule of Tree, including an answer to what really happened with Josh Shaw.

• David Lombardi joins Neon Tommy for an in-depth Q&A about the big matchup.

• USC football: Trojans cruise over Fresno Sate; what did Steve Sarkisian learn for Stanford? - Pacific Takes
  Sarkisian's offense was in midseason form, led by Cody Kessler, and the Bulldog's defense simply had no answer for USC's endless arsenal of WRs.

• Wednesday roundtable: Solving last year’s issues against USC | Stanford Daily
  Stanford's college newspaper tries to find the answers for the Cardinal to be successful this year.

• Stanford football: Kevin Hogan wants to be Andrew Luck - San Jose Mercury News
  Who doesn't? In quest to be next great Stanford quarterback, Kevin Hogan seeks help from the last one -- Andrew Luck, now in the NFL with the Indianapolis Colts.

• Lindy's Sports says USC fans should watch out for Kevin Hogan, Christian McCaffrey, Barry Sanders and Austin Hooper.

• ESPN's Pac-12 Blog says the USC/Stanford game will be more compelling than Michigan State/Oregon.

• The Pac-12 Blog also makes its predictions for the games and the majority are going the wrong direction, but Chantel Jennings is in for USC:

  An injured Williams is better than most defensive linemen in the conference. Heck, give me a Williams in a boot or a club cast or an eye patch and I’d still probably pick him in most one-on-one battles.

• USC Football: Snoop Dogg Breaks Down USC Game on ‘SportsCenter’ - Lost Lettermen
  USC celebrity fan Snoop Dogg recently appeared on "SportsCenter" to give some insight into the Trojans’ upcoming game against Stanford.

2014 USC Season

• What NFL.com is hearing from NFL scouts about prospects (both USC & UCLA mentioned)

  Nelson Agholor is unquestionably one of the most polished receivers in college football, but one veteran NFC scout says Agholor isn't even the most talented receiver at USC.

• PODCAST: Kirk Herbstreit talks USC with Colin Cowherd.

• PODCAST: Audible: USC visits The Farm, the dangers of live TV, more | FOX Sports
  In this episode of The Audible, Bruce Feldman and Stewart Mandel break down the best games of Week 2, discuss the challenges of balancing TV work with writing, and more.

• PODCAST: WeAreSC Podcast
  Mike Lamb even ends the podcast saying he'd put Buck Allen up against Georgia's Todd Gurley.

• PODCAST: The Peristyle Podcast with Ryan Abraham of USCfootball.com
  Ryan Abraham is joined by Ronnie Lott, Dan Weber and Harvey Hyde.

• The Jacksonville Jaguars select...
  Leonard Williams is atop Matt Miller's initial 2015 NFL Mock Draft.

• Pushing the tempo puts USC in better position to succeed. | SportsonEarth.com : Matt Brown Article
  Gone are the days of methodical, I-formation football at USC. While Steve Sarkisian was brought back to recapture the Pete Carroll glory days, he's also modernizing the Trojans' style of offense. If Week 1 was any indication, the move will pay off.

• QB Guru Steve Clarkson's Takeaways Of Saturday's SoCal Football: USC & UCLA

  The biggest thing about USC that jumped out at me was their team speed!  As only Robert Dinero would say…"This team has great Ju Ju!"

• The Numerical, Week 1 - SBNation.com

  USC got the ball 14 times against Fresno State on Saturday in Los Angeles. The Trojans finished each of their 14 possessions in Fresno State territory. The biggest upset of the day may have been that they only scored 52 points.

• Prediction the QBs most likely to transfer and guess which USC player made the list (cough...Max Browne...cough).

• Pac-12 Power Rankings from Pacific Takes

• Steve Sarkisian: ‘Shaw Put Us All In Tough Situation’ " The Doug Gottlieb Show
  USC head football coach discusses the Josh Shaw story, calls Anthony Brown's claims laughable, and talks about their first win.

  "Sarkisian said both he and the team will decide if Shaw will be welcomed back."

• Sark: How three Trojans can get better: OCRegister
  Steve Sarkisian gives constructive criticism for Claude Pelon, Delvon Simmons and Justin Davis.

• Once-hesitant USC players have embraced Steve Sarkisian's fun-loving style

  "I knew the transition was going to be hard for them at first, but I wanted to get to know them and I wanted them to get to know me," he said. "I didn't try overly hard or go out of my way. I was going to be me. Over time, developing those relationships are going to be critical, and over a nine-month period, I think we've done that now."

Former Trojans

• The Redskins Blog | Silas Redd Ready To Contribute On Offense, Special Teams

• Giants preview: The last stand for Eli and Coughlin? | New York Post
  The NYP says Devon Kennard could be a wild card for the Giants defense.

• Seahawks signed Allen Bradford to the practice squad.

• T.J McDonald talks about the Rams' new defense:

  "These preseason games have been a measuring stick about where we’re at as a team, what we need to work on," McDonald said. "But everybody’s thirsty for this first game, for this first piece of action."

• Cary Williams ready to beat up on Jaguars' rookie receivers Marqise Lee and Allen Robinson | NJ.com

  Eagles' CB Cary Williams issued a warning of sorts to Jacksonville rookie receivers Marqise Lee and Allen Robinson: "We are gonna be as physical as we possibly can," Williams said. "We'll be relentless."

• Junior Seau's Family Rejects Concussion Settlement With NFL
  Junior Seau's family will back out of the proposed concussion settlement being offered to former NFL players and pursue its own wrongful death suit.

Trojan Related

• Former Memphis (State) safety Jeremy Williams helped the Tigers defeat USC in 1991. The Georgia high school coach is now battling ALS.
• After Mike Pielluci went deep on a feature with former Oregon tight end Colt Lyerla, the Ducks are examining Lyerla's claims that he was promised a house and car by an Oregon booster.

USC Hoops Links

• Meet the Future: Elijah Stewart | Galen Central
• High impact newcomers for the 2014-15 season - College Basketball - ESPN
  Jeff Goodman identifies the 25 newcomers -- both freshmen and transfers -- who will have the biggest impact in 2014-15. USC shooting guard Katin Reinhardt makes the list...so do two former Trojans: Byron Wesley (Gonzaga) and Bryce Dejean-Jones (Iowa State).
• Pe'Shon Howard Signs With German Club Team
  Pe'Shon Howard has reportedly signed a contract with Weissenhorn Youngstars in Germany and is expected to be their starting point guard.