Can USC pass its first real test against a real-deal opponent, Stanford?

After two easy games to start the season, a USC team carrying a top-10 ranking and the weight of lofty expectations plays Stanford in a Pac-12 Conference opener.

If that sounds familiar, well, it should.

In 2012, a No. 2-ranked USC team with a record-setting senior quarterback ran into a Cardinal defense that knocked off the Trojans at Stanford before they began a free fall into oblivion five games later.

On Saturday at the Coliseum, sixth-ranked USC looks to avoid a similar setback and show the college football world that it is worthy of the growing hype.

“It’s nice, obviously, to be up there and put ourselves in a good spot,” quarterback Cody Kessler said of the Trojans’ ranking. “But what it’s really going to come down to is the end of the season.”

It usually comes down to the final minutes when the Trojans play the Cardinal.

Since Stanford’s 55-21 blowout victory at the Coliseum in 2009 — which famously produced the “What’s your deal?” exchange between former coaches Pete Carroll and Jim Harbaugh — the games have been decided by eight points or fewer. Three were won with late field goals.

Saturday’s game could be decided by the play of Kessler or Stanford quarterback Kevin Hogan, both of whom are coming off career-best passing-yardage performances.

Kessler ranks second nationally in passing efficiency. He has completed 45 of 57 passes for 650 yards, with no interceptions.

The third-year starter’s success is no surprise to Stanford Coach David Shaw, who said before the season that Kessler was on the verge of mastering the college game.

“There’s nothing he’s going to go through that’s a first time for him,” Shaw said.

Last week, Kessler passed for three touchdowns and 410 yards in the Trojans’ 59-9 victory over Idaho. After enduring a week of criticism about his deep-ball accuracy, he delivered perfectly thrown touchdown passes of 50 and 41 yards to receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and 28 yards to receiver Isaac Whitney.

Kessler was sacked five times in the first half in the opener against Arkansas State, but the offensive line has not given up a sack in the last six quarters.

Now the Trojans face a Stanford program with a reputation for hitting the quarterback. The Cardinal has recorded only two sacks this season, but Kessler anticipates a physical front.

“It’s going to be tough challenge for our offensive line,” Kessler said. “I think they’re ready. I’m excited to see how they’re going to handle it because we’re going to play some teams . . . that are going to be physical up front, and for our guys it’s their first real test with that.”

USC’s defense will attempt to pressure Hogan, who last week passed for 341 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-7 victory over Central Florida.

“We’re not going to throw a defense out there that he hasn’t seen before,” USC Coach Steve Sarkisian said. “But we do need to make him as uncomfortable as possible.”

USC’s defensive line was a question mark before the season and it did not provide many answers in the first two games. The Trojans have produced only two sacks.

Defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox said the Trojans hit the quarterback 10 times against Idaho.

“We’ve had chances,” he said. “We’ve got to get the guy on the ground.”

USC clinched last season’s 13-10 victory when former linebacker J.R. Tavai sacked Hogan and forced him to fumble. It was one of the few times the Trojans came up with a key defensive stop late in the game to ensure a victory.

Coaches have platooned linemen and linebackers this season in an attempt to keep players fresh and utilize a deeper and more talented roster.

“We want to be at our best in the fourth quarter,” Sarkisian said. “We want a fresh football team, a team that’s executing at a high level at those critical moments.

“A year ago we weren’t.”

gary.klein@latimes.com

Twitter: @latimesklein