The theme on Friday evening as No. 22 USC and No. 16 Iowa meet one another in the Holiday Bowl will most certainly be a clash of styles. The Trojans enter the game with a slew of talented athletes, and while USC fought through another rough season, we saw flashes of how dangerous this offense can be. The Hawkeyes, meanwhile, will be looking to shut the USC offense down with yet another terrific defensive outing.
It's also a game of two very different coaches. USC's Clay Helton has been in a constant battle to stay off the hot seat. Iowa's Kirk Ferentz is one of college football's modern era Godfathers and can notch a rare 10-win season (the Hawkeyes have just two since 2009). Here's what to watch in Friday night's Holiday Bowl in San Diego.
Who takes this battle of old school college football brands? Let's take a closer look at the matchup and storylines to follow before making some expert picks both straight up and against the spread.
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Storylines
USC: Look, coach Clay Helton is going to be on the hot seat entering 2020 no matter what happens in this game. But the offseason chatter can cool at least a little with a win. The big victory for Helton was retaining offensive coordinator Graham Harrell. The working relationship between him and freshman quarterback Kedon Slovis has had its ups and downs, but it's really fun when it's clicking. If USC is going to win this game, Slovis has to have a great day against a strong Iowa defense. Don't be surprised if the Trojans' Air Raid offense goes with quick passes early, as they've been oft to do this season, to get Slovis comfortable before opening up some big plays down the field to their excellent wide receivers. The matchup advantage has to exist in the air, otherwise the Trojans can be shut down.
Iowa: The Hawkeyes win games with defense, so it'll be a fascinating matchup to see how they do against USC's Megatron wide receivers -- mainly, senior Michale Pittman Jr. The Trojans' leading wideout can hit 100 catches for the season if he gets five more in this game. Iowa's pass defense has been excellent all season. Only twice -- against Iowa State and Minnesota -- did an opposing offense really have any kind of success through the air. Iowa will have its hands full with this USC passing attack, but that's the key matchup since USC is far less reliable running the ball and Iowa shuts that down.
Viewing information
Event: Holiday Bowl
Date: Friday, Dec. 27 | Time: 8 p.m. ET
Location: SDCCU Stadium -- San Diego, California
TV: FS1 | Live stream: fuboTV (Try for free)
Holiday Bowl prediction, picks
Iowa does a good job of staying in football games and controlling the pace overall. Rarely this season have things gotten out of hand for the Hawkeyes. I wonder if that'll continue against USC's speed and size, particularly at wide receiver. Let's face it, the Hawkeyes aren't built to come from behind if the deficit is big enough. But, I trust the defense and the line is small enough that I'll lay the points with it. Pick: Iowa -2.5
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