USC football travels to Arizona State on Saturday

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The 5th ranked USC Trojans football team will travel to the land of the desert on Saturday when they face the Arizona State Sun Devils at 7:30 p.m. The Sun Devils are 1-2 and USC is 3-0. It's the second Pac-12 game for USC and the first of three Pac-12 games before they travel to South Bend to battle the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at 4:30 p.m. on October 14.

Before the Notre Dame game the Trojans play Colorado at 9 a.m. on September 30 on the road and they face Arizona at home on October 7. The time for the Arizona game has not been announced.

What the Trojans must do is focus on one game at a time because they have so many big games on their schedule. After playing No. 9 Notre Dame they play No. 11 Utah at home, on October 21. They face No. 8 Washington at home on November 4. On November 11, the Trojans travel to No. 10 Oregon and they finish the Pac-12 regular season against cross town rival No. 22 UCLA at home on November 18.

It's exciting times for USC football. If they can win eight out of nine of the rest of their games and win the Pac-12 championship game, they should have a chance to go to the College Football Playoffs.

The big question mark for USC is their defense. They seem to have the athletes but when they need to make a play, they drop the ball. The offense is solid behind the play of quarterback Caleb Williams. Williams has six or seven outstanding receivers to throw to and there are four or five very good running backs who are capable of making big plays. The "X" factor for the Trojans in freshman return specialist Zachariah Branch. Branch has speed and moves that are rarely seen on the football field. He is special.

The Trojans have a demanding schedule and if they stay healthy, they have an opportunity to stay in the hunt for the grand prize, a championship.