In one of the more interesting non-BCS bowls of the season, Fresno State and Southern California will square off in the Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl. The Trojans will be coached by an interim-interim head coach, Clay Helton. Helton is USC’s third coach of the 2013 season after Lane Kiffin was fired to start the year and interim coach Ed Orgeron turned in his resignation after being passed over for the permanent job. Helton will coach the team for one game and then he will hand the keys over to Steve Sarkisian for the foreseeable future.

Four head coaches, not even one and a half seasons. This will be the dilemma for the Trojans in Las Vegas – how do you get fired up for one more coach? USC will have to find a way to get up for this game in a way that they might not have to prepare for another opponent. After all, the Bulldogs are an eleven-win team with a quarterback most people think will be a top-five pick in next year’s NFL Draft. And that doesn’t even account for the fact that they’re loaded with talent across the board.

The Fresno State Passing Game

Troy will have to find a way to slow down a passing attack that nobody has stopped this season. Carr has thrown for 250+ yards in every game except for one – Cal Poly. He’s thrown for more than 320 in every game with the exception of two – Cal Poly and San Diego State. This is going to be tough for a secondary that has had spotty coverage all year.

Of course, Fresno will have to find a way to get those passes off with guys like Leonard Williams and George Uko charging ahead. The Trojan front-seven is as good as there is in the country and they proved that when they hung in there against Stanford. They know how to play physical and shed blocks. Fresno State’s offensive line will also have to account for the creative ways Trojan defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast is able to bring pressure from different angles, particularly his linebackers.

Some people might worry that Fresno State might be suffering from a bit of a hangover after being left out of the BCS because of an untimely loss. Fresno State has only played USC twice, but both games were as memorable as they get. This is a team fighting for in-state supremacy. A win over USC gives DeRuyter and his staff instant credibility on the West Coast and opens plenty of doors in the recruiting game.

Fresno State will be prepared because they are led by Derek Carr. Carr leads the nation in most passing categories and also has all the motivation in the world to topple a team like USC in final game as a Bulldog. Carr would be the only quarterback other than Trent Dilfer to have led the Fresno State Bulldogs to a victory over the USC Trojans.

There’s also the fact that Davante Adams is basically auditioning for NFL scouts after submitting his paperwork for evaluation. Anything short of his best effort is likely to result in negative feedback for Adams. USC has no problems turning out professional athletes and a poor showing against an NFL-caliber defense won’t help shed the toughness issues Adams faced earlier in the season.

Fresno State QB Derek Carr

Battle in the Trenches

The key to this game will be the war in the trenches. Though largely facing weaker competition, Fresno State led the nation in sacks. They also didn’t allow many on the season. Most football teams would kill for a defense that leads the nation in obtaining sacks and an offensive line that is near the top of the nation in sacks allowed. Balance in the trenches decides an awful lot of football games, no reason to think it won’t matter on Saturday.

The Trojans will be without their starting center Marcus Martin, lost against UCLA. They’re also without Aundrey Walker, also having gone down against UCLA. Abe Markowitz will likely get the start at center and fifth-year senior John Martinez will fill in at right guard. How will they hold up against a front-seven that led the nation in sacks and was tied for fourth in the nation in tackles for loss?

Both secondary units have had issues over the course of the year and both have suffered from a plethora of injury issues. Both teams have a wealth of talent catching the ball, both can make a secondary look awful rather quickly. It really will be interesting to see which units come to play and which units are caught looking in the past.

Motivation ?

There are enough relationships between both teams that player motivation shouldn’t be a problem. Cody Kessler and Derek Carr hail from Bakersfield and have had seen/heard quite enough of the other guy while growing up. Bulldog receiver Greg Watson and Trojan tight end Randall Telfer played together in high school, still the best of friends. The respect will be there and there will be enough guys on both teams, particularly the Trojans, who will be told that a lack of respect will be fatal to their chances of winning.

While neither team should come out flat for this game, it is likely that USC is dealing with too many distractions for this team to pull out the victory. Win or lose, Troy will be judged by their efforts. The team has preached the motto of family and ‘one team, one heartbeat’ all year long. To show up and give anything less than 100% for their brothers, especially after the 2012 Sun Bowl, would be a contradiction of everything they have preached. Expect maximum effort, but will it be enough to take home the prize?

Fresno State – 38, USC – 34