Now, Attention Turns to Stanford

Top-ranked Stanford, which plays host to No. 25 USC on Thursday, presents the biggest test of the season for the Trojans.

USC didn’t allow itself to think about the unbeaten Cardinal until completing a sweep of Oregon and Oregon State. But Stanford was on the Trojans’ minds after the final buzzer of Saturday’s victory over the Beavers.

“We’ll have to play defense like we haven’t played this year,” Jeff Trepagnier said. “And we’ll have to bring all our weapons. We’ll have to play our best game, not make mistakes and be unified.”

Taking a modest three-game winning streak into Thursday’s contest does give USC a little momentum, junior Brandon Granville said. And, he added, it’s not like the Trojans haven’t won at Stanford in a long time.

“We did win [at Stanford] my freshman year when they were number five or six in the nation,” Granville said. “It’s not an intimidating place for me to go to.”

Still, Granville and the rest of the Trojans who played in Palo Alto last season have to remember the 111-68 beating handed out by Stanford. It was the most points ever scored by a USC opponent.

Granville pointed out that a rusty Sam Clancy was playing for the first time after sitting out 10 games because of a broken foot. And Brian Scalabrine sat out the second half because of a hip pointer.

But Granville agreed that the Trojans will need to be at their best to have a chance.

“We know what we have to do,” he said.

Stanford has won six of the last eight games between the teams, including both last season.