Pac-12 Championship Game 2017: Go Joe Bruin predicts the game!

Both USC and Stanford play in tonight’s Pac-12 Championship Game and with UCLA having some interest in the title match up, Go Joe Bruin predicts the game!

You might be asking yourself, “why does a site that covers UCLA football making predictions about the Pac-12 Championship Game?”

RELATED: Chip Kelly will win championships at UCLA, he has to

Simple. (1) Every fan base in the conference should have interest in this game, especially when it comes to deciding bowl games. (2) We want to see a battle between two teams that are going to lose to UCLA next season. Ha!  I’m kidding. (No I’m not.)

It doesn’t matter if UCLA is not in this game, this is about the Pac-12 Championship.  This is what it all comes down to. Not only that, but the winner will most likely get a bid to the Fiesta Bowl. Either way, it should be a good game as Stanford tries to get revenge and USC tries to prove they are once again the top team in the conference.

Who will win? We try to figure that out…

Michael Chavez, USC 45 – Stanford 28

We saw that UCLA made backups or young QBs look good all season. KJ Costello is one of those QBs. However the Trojans are a different PAC-12 animal and their ability to play up the field and their willingness to bring pressure means they can attack Costello all day with blitzes. Stanford doesn’t have the wide open offense that can force the defense to defend the entire field. LooK for SC to load the box and bring pressure from these looks while mixing in some zone blitz concepts to confuse Costello. Bryce Love will be their most consistent offensive threat. However we saw last time these two teams met that Ronald Jones gets much more help from his passing attack and takes advantage while Love is typically running into loaded looks. Defensively this Stanford unit was slashed repeatedly by the Trojans through the ground and air. That won’t change this time around.

Nathan Eberhardt, USC 27 – Stanford 17

I’ve paid much less attention to these teams than Chavez has, and my analysis is therefore likely to be much more glib, but I have USC 27-17 Stanford. Essentially this is because David Shaw has a three-tier scale of coaching ability. Against the average team, he has a tendency to get conservative and go into a shell to his team’s detriment. Against USC, he does this to the extreme, and against UCLA he does this never. Advantage: USC.

David Goldman, Stanford 27 – USC 24

Stanford continues their yearly tradition of being a team playing their best football at the end of the season. Love runs wild and a Darnold turnover or two sinks the Trojans.

Michael Hanna, USC 30 – Stanford 24

More from Go Joe Bruin

• UCLA Football: It’s time for the nation to meet Dante Moore
• UCLA Football: Where are they ranked heading into week 4
• UCLA Football: Position battle breakdown for Utah showdown
• UCLA vs. Utah: Location, time, prediction, and more
• UCLA Football: Highlights from Chip Kelly’s appearance on the Jim Rome Show

USC plays worse than their initial matchup earlier in the season and Stanford plays better, but in the end, this USC team has established that more often than not, it will not play up to its talent level but it will play exactly to a level 1% better than its opponent. In this game, that means the Trojans will do just enough on the lines of scrimmage running the ball against a bad Stanford run defense and stopping Bryce Love as much as any defense can to eke out a late victory that wins them this truly awful conference.

Muna Osisioma, USC 30 – Stanford 17

USC can hurt Stanford in all the ways that they are weak. Ronald Jones can run it and Sam Darnold (although not better than Josh Rosen. *clears throat*) has enough weapons on the outside to cause problems for the Cardinal secondary. Love is Love but USC can outgun him and neither of his quarterbacks can provide him with enough help. Hate to say it but this is breaking USC’s way. I will now go wash my hands vigorously with scalding water and soap to remove the dirt from typing this.

David Rosenthal, Stanford 28- USC 24

If Bryce Love is healthy, he should continue his great season against a Trojans’ defense that is giving up 4.4 yards per carry. Sam Darnold will have his typical game throwing a few touchdowns but also an interception or two. His second pick will be a late one that gives Stanford the PAC-12 title.

Next: UCLA Football Recruiting: 3-star Kazmeir Allen commits to the Bruins

Mike Regalado, Stanford 24 – USC 20

Aside from the fact that UCLA football fans do not look favorably on either Stanford or USC, this should be a very good game. Both teams have phenomenal running backs that should do most of the damage offensively for the respective teams. Bryce Love and Ronald Jones  are extremely entertaining to watch. Unfortunately, I don’t think they will determine the outcome of this game. That should come down to coaching and at this time of the year, David Shaw is always on top of his game.