Fans of the Pac-12 who reside in the league's footprint may have to wake up a little bit earlier than usual at times to catch their favorite teams in action this season. While many are familiar with the league's "Pac-12 After Dark" catchphrase for night games, a "Pac-12 with breakfast" moniker might be more appropriate for Saturday's game between No. 20 USC's and Arizona State in Los Angeles.
The Trojans are launching their bid for a Pac-12 title at 9 a.m. PT against a Sun Devils squad looking to take another step forward in Herm Edwards' third season as coach. It will be a particularly intriguing quarterback matchup as USC's Kedon Slovis and Arizona State's Jayden Daniels were voted to the league's preseason first and second teams, respectively. Slovis set a freshman record last season by completing 71.9% of his passes, while Daniels was equally spectacular during his freshman season as he threw for 2,943 yards, 17 touchdowns and just two interceptions.
So grab some coffee and keep your head on a swivel because there should be plenty of offense in this one as the Pac-12 finally enters the 2020 season with an early-morning offensive showdown.
Storylines
USC: The Trojans enter the 2020 season as the favorites to win the Pac-12 North. Those are high expectations for a program that followed a 5-7 season with an 8-5 campaign last year. But the expectations are reflective on the talent within the program. USC landed six players on the league's preseason first team, including four players from an offense expected to have serious firepower. There is ample pressure on coach Clay Helton, and opening with a quality opponent puts him under the microscope right away during an abbreviated season.
Arizona State: The Sun Devils may not be receiving the national attention that USC is entering the season, but that's partially because their coach is not on the hot seat like Helton. To the contrary, Edwards is receiving praise for the job he's done at Arizona State. He led the team to an 8-5 record last season that included a 31-28 win over Oregon, and he did it with a freshman starting at quarterback from the jump. Daniels is a rising star, but most of the rest of the offensive starters will be new. Fortunately, there are enough starters back on the defense to provide Daniels with some backup if the offense sputters in the beginning.
Viewing information
Date: Saturday, Nov. 7 | Time: Noon ET
Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum -- Los Angeles, California
TV: Fox | Live stream: fuboTV (Try for free)
Game prediction, picks
This USC offense could be one of the best in the country; It certainly has the talent to be elite. But this Arizona State team is probably the second-best team in the division. After two straight disappointing seasons, how can you blindly say that the Trojans are more than 11 points better than the second-best team in the Pac-12 South? If any defense has the chops to contain USC, it might be this group at Arizona State. Pick: Arizona State (+10.5)
 |  |  |  |  |  |  | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USC -10.5 |  | | | | | | |
| S/U |  | | | | | | |
Which college football picks can you make with confidence in Week 10, and which Pac-12 team will pull off a shocking upset? Visit SportsLine to see which teams will win and cover the spread -- all from a proven computer model that has returned over $4,100 in profit over the past four-plus seasons -- and find out.
