It's been over a decade since the Arizona St. Sun Devils defeated the USC Trojans, and it's a fact not lost on fans of either ASU, USC, or even the University of Arizona. It's one of those facts that has just been accepted: Southern Cal beats the Sun Devils every season.
Can coach Dennis Erickson and this year's team finally turn their luck around? USC has had a terrible season by their once-lofty standards and is beatable. ASU can either come out and score a ton of points or be crushed under an avalanche of California Golden Bears.
I look to two of the regular suspects for this game: Steven Threet and the secondary.
With Threet in the crosshairs, it comes down to execution of the game. Can our quarterback lead efficient drives, complete short passes and allow the run game to come to fruition? If he plays anything like last week's performance (300 passing yards) then the Sun Devils will be in great shape on Saturday.
On the other side of the field, Matt Barkley and the Trojans are still lethal on offense. The secondary must step up and minimize big gains, forcing this game to come down to who can run an offense better. I'm willing to flip a coin in Threet's favor, although Barkley is having an excellent season.
Without jinxing it, it looks like the Sun Devils finally have a fighter's chance in the Coliseum. Will they come out like Rocky or get KO'ed like Apollo Creed? We shall find out soon enough.