USC football vs. Oregon State 2022: Three things to watch for

USC football faces Oregon State in the Apple Cup. Alex Grinch spent three seasons as Washington State's defensive coordinator while Jonathan Smith was the offensive coordinator at Washington. The team scored 131 points in three games between 2015 and 2017. USC's defense showed some signs of life in last Saturday's win over Fresno State.

Oregon State is the current Pac-12's leading rusher. The Beavers have 11 rushing touchdowns this season. USC is ranked outside the top 100 in rushing yards allowed. How the defensive front responds to the Beaver's rushing attack will be key to deciding the game.

USC's offense is lethal and its last three touchdown drives have taken less than two minutes. Oregon State wants to play the game at a slow pace to give the offense less time to score. USC's first touchdown drive lasted more than 10 minutes last week and the next two were each more that five minutes long.

USC is 3-4 in Corvallis since 2000. The Beavers created four turnovers to defeat the Trojans in 2006. In 2008, the Beavs beat the third-ranked Trojan team. Since 2000, three times more money had been bet on Oregon State as 6½-point underdogs than any other college football spread this week.