Southern California @ Arizona preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 5, 2009 ) Arizona 21, Southern California 17

A week after having its Pac-10 title hopes dashed, No. 19 Arizona hopes to get back on the winning path when they host Southern Cal. The Wildcats snapped a seven-game losing streak in the series when they won at USC last year.

Arizona saw its slim BCS and conference title hopes come crashing down last week. The Wildcats were hammered at Stanford 42-17 and were never in the game. Stepfan Taylor rushed for four touchdowns for the Cardinal and Andrew Luck passed for two more in the out of the Wildcats.

The performance left the Wildcats’ defense scratching their heads. Arizona dropped five spots to No. 10 in the nation in points allowed after allowing 510 yards of total offense.

The loss snapped a three-game winning streak and dropped Arizona to third place in the conference standings. The Wildcats are now looking at a berth in the Holiday Bowl against the fifth-place team from the Big 12, currently Texas A&M. That’s not too exciting for Arizona (7-2, 4-2 Pac-10), which had much higher aspirations.

The Wildcats list just about its entire skill set on this week’s injury report. They all could play. Quarterback Nick Foles left last week’s game with a shoulder injury but the outcome was in hand by then.

Like Foles, star receiver Juron Criner is also listed as probable with a leg injury. Running backs Nick Grigsby and Grew Nwoko are both questionable with ankle injuries.

If Foles can’t play it won’t be Matt Scott in reserve. A former starter, Scott fared well in a win at UCLA two weeks ago, but injured his wrist in last week’s loss and is out indefinitely.

USC (6-3, 3-3) won a thriller last week against Arizona State. The Trojans nipped the Sun Devils 34-33 when ASU’s normally sure-footed kicker Weber Thomas missed a 42-yarder with just over a minute left to play.

The Trojans are ineligible for the postseason for the next two years because of NCAA sanctions and have set their sights on playing the role of spoiler while Matt Barkley boosts his NFL stock.

Barkley has thrown 24 touchdown passes (fourth in the nation) on the season against eight interceptions. He’s connected on 64 percent of his passes for 2,348 yards. He’s averaged three scoring passes a week for the past four games.

The Trojans rank 14th in the nation in scoring but may be shorthanded at running back. Marc Tyler rushed for 116 yards last week but is battling an ankle injury and is questionable for Saturday. The Trojans also suspended three players for academic reasons earlier in the week.

Both teams played five similar opponents on the season and the results have been the same except in games against Washington. Arizona hammered the Huskies 44-14 but USC lost 32-31 against Washington at Southern California.