Friday's Fast Five: Digging Into Keys For Buffs Vs. USC

BOULDER — Saturday night's Colorado-USC game at the Los Angeles Coliseum will be a rarity in the series.

For only the second time since CU joined the Pac-12 in time for the 2011 season, the Buffs are the ranked team (No. 19 AP, No. 18 USA Today), not the Trojans. The first occasion came in 2016, when No. 21 Colorado faced an unranked USC team in the Coliseum — and still came out on the short end of a 21-17 score, one of the 12 times Colorado has fallen to the Trojans in 12 meetings.

The 5-0 Buffs aim to end that streak Saturday (8:30 p.m., FS1). But despite their ranking, they enter the game as underdogs. While the 3-2 Trojans struggled early — losing back-to-back games against Stanford and Texas — they seem to have found their footing with wins over Washington State and Arizona.

Still, this USC team doesn't seem to fit the powerhouse mold of the last few seasons.

Instead of a Heisman Trophy candidate at quarterback, they have a talented but inexperienced quarterback, true freshman JT Daniels. They have been inconsistent on offense and their defense has not been nearly as dominant as some of their squads in recent years.

But the Trojans are still extremely talented on both sides of the ball, and the pattern of Clay Helton's teams in his tenure has been steady improvement. If the Buffs are to end their all-time 0-12 skid against USC — and Helton's 18-0 mark in the Coliseum at the same time — they will have to be at their best.

What does that mean? Our weekly Fast Five Keys:

1. Don't let the Trojans off to a quick start. In their last two meetings, the Buffs have fallen behind quickly and never recovered. Two years ago, they trailed 14-0 at the half in a 21-17 win. Last year, USC led 20-0 at the half and extended the margin to 27-0 before Colorado rallied to close the gap, ultimately falling 38-24.

Thus, the Buffs need to establish some momentum early and put a dent in the Trojans' confidence. That means getting out of the gate quickly on offense, moving the chains and putting the USC defense on its heels. Colorado has done a good job of striking early in the air, and if Steven Montez can deliver a deep ball or two in the first couple of series, it will set the tone.

Defensively, CU needs to make USC earn its yards and not give up big plays. Trojans running back Aca'Cedric Ware is coming off a 21-carry, 173-yard effort against Arizona that included touchdown runs of 26 and 69 yards. Colorado, though, has given up just four touchdown plays of 20 yards or longer this season and none in the last two games.

If the Buffs can get on the board early and keep the Trojans from getting easy scores, they will be in the game when it matters down the stretch — and Colorado has been outstanding in the second half. CU has outscored opponents 65-31 in the third quarter and 23-3 in the final period this year.

2. Win the turnover battle. After producing seven defensive takeaways in their first three games, CU's defense hasn't had an interception or fumble recovery in the last two.

The good news is the Buffs also haven't turned the ball over in those two games.

But Saturday, Colorado will need a couple of those momentum-shifting moments from the defense and the Trojans have not taken particularly good care of the ball. Daniels has thrown three interceptions and the Trojans have lost four fumbles — including three against Arizona, which allowed the Wildcats to come back from a 24-0 deficit to close the margin to 24-20.

USC's defense, meanwhile, has recovered just two fumbles and picked off only one pass and CU's offense has displayed excellent ball security. The Buffs haven't lost a fumble since the season opener, and quarterback Steven Montez had thrown just two interceptions — and none in the last two games.

This is the type of game that could very well hinge on a late turnover. If the Buffs can be the team that forces it instead of giving it up, they will be in good shape.

3. Continue to run the ball well. The Buffs have had four games with at least 166 yards on the ground this year, with running back Travon McMillian owning four 100-yard efforts in those contests.

But historically, they have struggled to run the ball against the Trojans. Even with standout Phillip Lindsay in the backfield, CU managed just 96 and 110 yards rushing in their last two meetings.

This year, however, the Trojans have been less than stellar against the run. UNLV rushed for 308 yards in a game that went down to the fourth quarter, Stanford ran for 172 and Texas ran for 160.

The Buffs need to be in that 150 range because they are at their best throwing the ball when they have established their ground game. If they can keep the Trojans honest — and stay in second-and-short and third-and-short situations — they will have a much better chance of controlling the tempo and putting together the kind of drives that will wear USC's defense out in the fourth quarter.

4. Stay steady on special teams. The Trojans have already blocked a pair of field goals this year, including one that preserved a 39-36 win over Washington State and another in their 24-20 win over Arizona.

Those are the kinds of mistakes that make the difference in a game. Colorado kicker James Stefanou is 5-for-8 on field goal attempts this year, but his misses haven't made a difference. This week, the Buffs must be able to take advantage of every scoring opportunity available to them.

5. Stop the USC run game and force Daniels to throw. USC's freshman quarterback has a terrific arm and can thread the ball into a tight window.

But he is not particularly nimble — he has been sacked 13 times and has minus-58 yards rushing — and that pressure has affected his accuracy. He has completed less than 60 percent of his throws (100-for-167) and has thrown three interceptions.

If the Buffs can stop the Trojans on first down and force Daniels into obvious passing situations, they will end drives early — and put more pressure on the USC defense.

That's another situation that will serve Colorado well when the game is on the line.

Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu