Sun Devil Stadium at 7:30 p.m. PT on ESPN and WatchESPN
Sun Devil to Watch: Senior WR/RB D.J. FosterLike Christian McCaffrey last week, Foster will be used in a myriad of ways as the central focus of Arizona State's offense. Last year, he ran for more than 1,000 yards to lead the team, and rank seventh in the Pac-12, but the Sun Devils were deep at tailback, so Foster moved to receiver this season. However, he has still carried the ball 20 times for 97 yards. Lining up all over the field, he leads the team with 16 catches.
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3 Keys
Break the Dam Open
The Trojans are the only team in the nation that has played three games this season without yielding a turnover. However, USC has not taken the ball away in the last eight quarters after forcing four turnovers in the season opener. Head coach Steve Sarkisian has emphasized turnovers as a way to swing close games in his team's favor, and they are even more important on the road. USC is -7 in the turnover margin in its back-to-back losses at Sun Devil Stadium in 2011 and 2013.
More Plays to Make Plays
USC is third in the nation in yards per play (8.45), so naturally, the Trojans want to run as many plays as possible. However, the offense has struggled on third downs, ranking 116th in the nation with a 30.8 percent conversion rate. Conversely, the defense forced only two punts last week, so the offense ran just 60 plays. Sarkisian wants to be closer to 100 plays, so the key is for the offense to stay on the field, and the defense to get off it.
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Double Meaning
The Trojans' stated goal is to win the Pac-12 South, and so while the Stanford loss hurt, at least it came against an opponent in the North. The game at Arizona State, a fellow South contender, counts double with the possibility of tiebreakers down the road. The Sun Devils have won three of the last four in the match-up, and no Trojan will ever forget how last year's game ended. While the team emphasizes a faceless opponent, motivation will not be in short supply this week.
