The No. 1 ranked USC Trojans and the early Heisman Trophy favorite Matt Barkley take on the Hawaii Warriors on Saturday, and SB Nation's Trojans blog Conquest Chronicles has a detailed breakdown on what to look for in the game. One of the big questions they highlight is the defensive line:
Much has been talked about USC's defensive line, and that was prior to losing senior defensive end Devon Kennard for possibly the entire season. As has been said many times, the Trojans are awfully young up front. Other than senior Wes Horton, the remaining three players projected to start --- redshirt sophomore George Uko, sophomore J.R. Tavai and redshirt freshman Antwaun Woods --- have a combined two starts between them. And those two starts belong to Uko last season.
There are questions on offense as well, such as the starting tailback tandem of Curtis McNeal and Silas Redd:
Right now, McNeal and Redd are listed as co-starters on the depth chart. That certainly came as a surprise, as it was thought all along that McNeal would be the clear starter. It'll be interesting to see if Kiffin splits the carries 50-50 or gives one of the two most of the workload.
Head over to Conquest Chronicles for the full breakdown, including analysis on the team's gap at left tackle, and the health of players like Robert Woods and Lamar Dawson.
Stick with this StoryStream for score updates and more from USC vs. Hawaii. For all things USC, Conquest Chronicles has you covered.