College Football Week 2 Upset Pick: USC Loses to Stanford Without JT Daniels

• This will be the first conference game for both teams 
• USC has lost starting QB JT Daniels for the season
• Stanford looks to upset the Trojans in Week 2

USC has lost starting quarterback JT Daniels for the season after he tore his ACL in Week 1 against Fresno State, while Stanford beat a good Northwestern team thanks to a dominant defensive performance as they head into the Coliseum on Saturday night for the first Pac-12 game of the season.

The Cardinal lost their own starter, KJ Costello, to a head injury, but he’s at least listed as questionable for Week 2, when these teams hook up at the Coliseum (Sat. Sep. 7th, 10:30 PM ET).

Can Stanford pull off the upset as small road underdogs?

 Stanford vs USC: Spread, Moneyline & Total

Odds taken 09/03/19.

JT Daniels Done for Season

USC is coming off a disappointing 5-7 season and looking to rebound under fourth-year head coach Clay Helton. A season-ending injury to quarterback JT Daniels has cast a cloud of uncertainty over the Trojans, and put Helton squarely back on the hot seat.

There were big expectations for Daniels to get the USC back on track after he started 11 games as a true freshman in 2018, throwing for 2,672 yards and 14 touchdowns with 10 interceptions. All that promise has been thrown out the window after Daniels tore both his ACL and meniscus against Fresno State in the opener after looking comfortable in new OC Graham Harrell’s air raid scheme.

USC quarterback JT Daniels is out for the season after tearing his ACL and meniscus on Saturday.

Daniels will undergo surgery in the next few weeks.https://t.co/PKdbbvlxAX

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 2, 2019

True Freshman Kedon Slovis is expected to take over for Daniels and his lack of experience makes Stanford a good bet in Week 2. The Cardinal took down Northwestern 17-7 and their defense looked very strong, holding five star transfer Hunter Johnson to a measly 55 yards passing.

USC gained just 272 passing yards against Fresno State in Week 1 and 215 of those were gained by Daniels before his injury in the first half. This is a huge loss for the Trojans.

KJ Costello Questionable for Cardinal

The Cardinals are dealing with injury trouble of their own, which is likely the reason there isn’t a big spread for this game.

Stanford’s starting QB KJ Costello is questionable to play Saturday after suffering a head injury in the first quarter against Northwestern after taking a late hit on a slide.

He completed 16-of-20 passes for 152 yards and a touchdown before the injury.  Offensive tackle Walker Little is also out for at least a month with a dislocated knee.

https://twitter.com/BonaguraESPN/status/1168955020206850051?s=20

Even if Costello doesn’t play, I like the Cardinal chances with backup Davis Mills. Mills is a former five-star recruit who has been with Stanford since the 2017 season yet only played two games. He impressed the team this offseason and finished 7-of-14 for 81 yards in the opener. He should be eager to take advantage of any opportunity for more playing time.

Cardinal Have Defensive Edge

This should be a very low-scoring game and I give Stanford the edge when it comes to defense. The Trojans have a young secondary, while the Cardinal have a well-experienced defensive group.

We saw the Cardinal strong defense on display against the Wildcats when senior Casey Toohill completed a strip-sack late in the game and senior Jordan Fox recovered the fumble. Cornerback Paulson Adebo, who led the nation with 24 passes defended last season, had one of the team’s interception in the opener. Stanford has five returning starters on defense.

SEAL.
THE.
DEAL.
@CaseyToohill with the monster hit, @J_Fox10 with the recovery in the endzone.
📺: @CFBONFOX #GoStanford | #NextStartsNow pic.twitter.com/CsJdNkjTTN

— Stanford Football (@StanfordFball) August 31, 2019

Stanford’s strong defense combined with the uncertainty of USC’s offense with Slovis under center makes Stanford a good bet to win in Week 2.

Stanford has won eight of the last 12 games against USC dating back to 2009. Look for the Cardinals defense that impressed in Week 1 to shutdown the true freshman Slovis in Week 2 and secure the win.

Pick: Stanford (+100)