Before the No. 21 USC Trojans kicked off against the No. 23 Illinois Fighting Illini, ESPN’s College GameDay previewed the ranked matchup while the popular show is at Penn State for the Nittany Lion’s top-ranked matchup against the Oregon Ducks.
In a brief segment, GameDay host Rece Davis talked about USC’s travels after facing the Purdue Boilermakers on the road, followed by a late kickoff at home against the Michigan State Spartans, and then an early kickoff against Illinois in week 5.
Despite the complicated logistics surrounding USC and a 9 a.m. PT (11 a.m. local) game time, legendary college football coach Nick Saban was more focused on the Trojans’ defense.
“One of the other things about USC, the question has always been their defense. And this year their defense has 16 sacks. They’re very athletic, they make a lot of negative plays. Are they physical enough to hold up against the more physical running teams will be the big question for them,” Saban said.
In response, GameDay analyst Kirk Herbstreit talked about USC coach Lincoln Riley and the hire of defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn:
“Lincoln Riley, that’s been a knock on him and his team since Oklahoma, right? I mean, they’re scoring on everybody, but this defense. D’Anton Lynn land is doing a great job right now. We’ll see if they can keep that going after all that travel,” Herbstreit said.
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At the end of the conversation, Saban brought up a rather interesting point from his perspective as a head coach.
“You know, with these fastball, spread teams, I interviewed lots of guys through the years, and the way they wanna practice does not always enhance a good way to develop defense. So, I was always concerned about that,” Saban said.
Before the end of the show, both Herbstreit and Saban picked USC to win. Only co-host Desmond Howard picked Illinois to upset the Trojans.
According to DraftKings, USC is favored by 6.5 points over Illinois. After the Fighting Illini were decimiated by the Indiana Hoosiers in week 4, the Trojans are expected to take care of business on the road in spite of the early kickoff.
Will USC have enough to get it done against Illinois? The Fighting Illini were considered a ‘dark horse’ contender to compete for a Big Ten title, but two conference losses before the end of September would effectively eliminate Illinois from any chance at a conference championship.
The Trojans, on the other hand, are looking to protect their undefeated record before a bye week. When USC returns to play, they’ll host No. 19 Michigan followed by a road trip to No. 22 Notre Dame.
