It's the beginning of the Ed Orgeron era at USC when the Trojans (3-2, 0-2) host Arizona (3-1, 0-1) on Thursday night in a Pac-12 Conference clash at the Los Angeles Coliseum.
Both teams are in dire need of a victory to remain in the hunt for the Pac-12 South Division title, but for USC, the game is doubly important because it's the first to be played since Lane Kiffin was pulled off the team bus and given the heave-ho following a 62-41 blowout loss at Arizona State on Sept. 28.
With Orgeron, the former Ole Miss coach who was responsible for USC's defensive line, now at the helm, there's a high level of uncertainty as to what to expect from the Trojans.
It's hard to imagine it can go much worse for a once-proud program which began the 2012 season ranked No. 1 in the nation only to go 10-8 since.
For Arizona, a win would be the team's first since Sept. 14 when it clubbed UTSA 38-13. Since then, the Wildcats have played just one game, a 31-13 rain-soaked loss at Washington, with bye weeks on both sides of that setback.
Arizona beat a then 10th-ranked USC team 39-36 in Tucson last season, doing so despite Trojans wide receiver Marqise Lee's Pac-12 record of 345 receiving yards.
Time: 10:30 p.m. ET
Place: Los Angeles (Calif.) Coliseum
TV: Fox Sports 1
Radio: Arizona IMG Sports Network, ESPN Radio (USC)
Spread: Despite the coaching turmoil USC is still listed as a six-point favorite, according to sports betting site Bovada.
