The Mercury News

NO. 14 STANFORD AT NO. 6 USC

- — VYTAS MAZEIKA

RECORDS: Stanford 1-0. USC 1-0.

KICKOFF: 5:30 p.m. Saturday at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

TV: Fox.

RADIO: KTCT 1050.

SERIES HISTORY: USC leads 60-32-3 in a series that dates to 1905.

STORYLINES: For the fourth consecutiv­e year — and fifth of the last six — Stanford opens its Pac-12slate against USC. … The Cardinal has won seven of the last nine meetings, including three in a row. … This mark’s the 10-year anniversar­y of the 24-23upset of USC at the Coliseum on Oct. 6, 2007. Mark Bradford caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from Tavita Pritchard with 48seconds left. “I like to call that game the beginning of the program,” Stanford coach David Shaw said. … The Trojans are riding a 10-game win streak after last week’s 49-31triumph over Western Michigan, but fell two spots in the AP rankings after finding themselves trailing 21-14in the third quarter and tied with midway through the fourth.

STATS THAT MATTER: Stanford leads the nation with 279sacks since 2011. … USC quarterbac­k Sam Darnold got off to slow start to the season: 269yards, no touchdowns and two intercepti­ons. Don’t expect Shaw to underestim­ate the Heisman Trophy candidate, comparing him to Andrew Luck in terms of anticipati­on. “I think Sam is continuing to emerge as a great player,” Shaw said. “I think Andrew had two years where he was the best in the nation. I think Sam has that capability.” … Trojans tailbacks Ronald Jones II (159 yards, three touchdowns) and Stephen Carr (69 yards, two touchdowns) accounted for more than half the offense in the season opener. Wide receiver Deontay Burnett had seven catches for 142yards.

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