5 Reasons Why USC Will Beat Arizona in Their Upcoming Football Game

Oct. 8, 2023, 8:30 p.m. Sports

When the USC Trojans take on the Arizona Wildcats this Saturday, they’ll be looking to extend their lead in the all-time series to 78-32-3.

The Trojans have won eight of the last 10 games in the series, but the Wildcats did come away with a 48-14 victory the last time the two teams met in Tucson in 2016.

Here are five reasons why USC will come out on top in this year’s matchup:

1. The Trojans have a more experienced and battle-tested quarterback in Sam Darnold.

Darnold has started 16 games in his career, including all 14 last season when he threw for over 4,000 yards and 26 touchdowns.

The Wildcats will be starting redshirt freshman Khalil Tate, who has only played in two career games.

2. USC has a better overall defense.

The Trojans allowed an average of just over 19 points per game last season, while the Wildcats gave up nearly 34 points per contest.

3. The Trojans have a more experienced head coach in Clay Helton.

Helton has been at USC since 2010 and has a record of 27-10 as the Trojans’ head coach.

This will be Arizona head coach Rich Rodriguez’s fifth season with the Wildcats and he has a 28-24 record at Arizona.

4. USC has a better homefield advantage.

The Trojans will be playing in front of their home fans at the Coliseum, which can hold over 93,000 people.

The Wildcats will be playing in front of a less friendly crowd at Arizona Stadium, which has a capacity of just over 56,000.

5. The Trojans are simply the better team.

USC is ranked No. 15 in the country in the preseason AP poll, while Arizona is not ranked.

The Trojans also have more talent on their roster, as they had 14 players selected in the 2018 NFL Draft while the Wildcats had just two.

The bottom line is that USC is a better team than Arizona and they should be able to win this Saturday’s game.