The USC Trojans face a tough test Saturday night as they travel to Tucson to face the Arizona Wildcats. Arizona is ranked 18th in the Associated Press poll, 19th in the USA Today coaches poll, and is 18th in the latest BCS standings. USC is 26th in the latest AP poll, 23 votes shy of the top 25.
The Trojans are coming off a wild 34-33 win at home Saturday night against the Arizona State Sun Devils, while the Wildcats were drubbed in Palo Alto by the Stanford Cardinal. USC leads the all-time series with Arizona 26-7, and has won its last four games in Tucson. The Trojans had their seven-game winning streak against the Wildcats snapped last season when Arizona beat USC 21-17 at the Coliseum.
To beat the Wildcats, USC will have to contain Nick Foles and the Arizona passing attack. Arizona leads the Pac-10 conference and is 15th nationally is passing offense, averaging 294.8 yards per game. USC is last in the conference, and 114th out of 120 FBS teams, is pass defense, allowing 276.4 yards per game.
USC ends its season with three road contests out of its last four games, with its lone home game coming against Notre Dame on Nov. 27. Each of its next three games are Saturday night affairs, with a 5 p.m. kickoff. The time for the season finale against the UCLA Bruins has not yet been determined. USC is 3-1 on the road this season, with its only loss coming at the hands of Stanford, who beat the Trojans on a last-second field goal on Oct. 9.
Saturday night's contest will be televised regionally on ABC, with Ron Franklin and Ed Cunningham on the call.
For more USC news and information, be sure to read SB Nation blog Conquest Chronicles.