The 2007 upset ultimately made it possible to be "Kings of California"

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There is an unofficial title that Stanford will be playing to retain Saturday when the No. 14 Cardinal take on No. 6 USC in the Coliseum: Kings of California.

Forged in 2010 (really printed on T-shirts) the crown is only worn if a team sweeps USC, UCLA and Cal. Both USC and Stanford are ranked in the top-15 for the first time since 2014, when the Trojans' victory at Stanford seemed to knock the Cardinal into a tailspin for most of the rest of the season.

This year has the added significance of an historical anniversary.

This season marks the 10th since the Cardinal traveled to LA with some betting lines showing them as much as a 41-point underdog against a seemingly unstoppable machine. The 24-23 win by Stanford on Oct. 6, 2007 was a pivotal moment for the program, according to head coach David Shaw.

“For us to pull off that victory … this team can learn how to win and can compete and finish,” Shaw said. “That was the beginning of the idea of people thinking, ‘Maybe this can happen at Stanford.’ It’s not there, yet, but for me that was kind of the beginning of a team that will fight you to the end and find a way to win.”

When Shaw got to Stanford in 2006 as a member of head coach Jim Harbaugh’s staff he said one of the most important goals was the Cardinal needed to do more than play the California schools tough. Occasional wins wouldn’t translate well when sitting in living rooms in Southern California.

“We have to recruit against them and you have to beat them," he said. "You can’t recruit and say hopefully one day we beat them. You have to actually beat them. We want to try to win all the games we play in California.”

It was a step-by-step process. Stanford was swept by the California schools in 2008, which also is the last year the Cardinal lost to UCLA. Stanford lost to Cal in 2009 and hasn’t lost to the Golden Bears since.

And, of course, 2009 marked the “What’s your deal?” second-half demolition of USC that ended with Stanford celebrating a 55-21 victory in a mostly empty Coliseum.

It wasn’t until 2010 that Stanford earned the title of “Kings of California”, which they recognized with shirts for the team after sweeping Cal, UCLA and USC. Since that 2010 season the only in-state team to beat Stanford has been USC (2013 and 2014).

Stanford has swept the conference’s California teams four times under Shaw (2011, 2012, 2015 and 2016) and the Cardinal have won seven of the past nine games against the Trojans.

For historical perspective of how unimaginable such a feat once was, Stanford was 0-for-the 1960s and 1980s against USC. From 1958 to 1990 Stanford won three times and it took two of Stanford’s all-time great teams to win consecutive games (1970-1971).

It was never supposed to happen that Stanford vs. USC is one of the most important games in the country going on seven years in a row. And the winner is a heavy favorite to be “King of California.” And if you sweep California the odds are in your favor to be bound for the Rose Bowl in January.

For the Cardinal to defeat USC Saturday there are certain things that need to go their way, but it’s not the fanciful list that it used to be 10 years ago.

Win the line of scrimmage

Stanford's offensive line had its way with an overmatched Rice team and the Cardinal were able to rotate in multiple players on the line.

Devery Hamilton will get the start at right tackle against USC but there is a chance that freshman Walker Little could play as well. A.T. Hall is healthy enough to play and the returning starter at right tackle could get onto the field as well in some capacity.

The Cardinal will face a USC defense that gave up 263 rushing yards to Western Michigan in the season opener. The Broncos are a tough team but they only managed 94 passing yards, which foiled their upset bid.

Stanford will surely test the USC defensive line early and often Saturday.

When USC's offense takes the field the focus will be on Stanford's defensive front. The Cardinal are anchored by Harrison Phillips, who is an All-Pac-12 caliber defender in the middle of the unit. He is flanked by a returning starter, Dylan Jackson, and fifth-year Eric Cotton, who made his starting debut against Rice.

Stanford may not be able to get much of a pass rush with its defensive linemen in this game. That onus falls on the linebackers, notably Peter Kalambayi, Mike Tyler and Casey Toohill.

Kalambayi said he prefers a low-scoring defensive game and knows that requires corralling USC Heisman hopeful quarterback Sam Darnold: "He is a really good quarterback. I think he has great trust in his receivers. He has a very good receiver corps. He seems to be a true gunslinger. He'll throw it up and let his guys make a play on the ball. He also has something other USC quarterbacks haven't had which is the ability to run the football. If you don't contain him in the pocket he can really hurt you and he can make great throws on the run."

Kalambayi's first career sack was as a redshirt freshman against USC. The redshirt senior wouldn't mind another one, or two, in what could be his last game against the Trojans.

Kalambayi has also seen USC running Ronald Jones II develop over the past three years from a speed-only player to a well-rounded back. Jones had 159 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries last week.

"We have a saying, 'Stop the run first, earn the right to rush the passer,'" he said. "That will be a big thing to stop their stretches and their counters. They have a pretty diverse running game. That will be a nice challenge for us up front."

Keller Chryst must pass his toughest test

The Trojans' struggles on run defense last week aside, USC represents the most talented defense Keller Chryst has faced as the starting quarterback.

Reportedly Chryst was a bit shaky at times last season in the huddle and at the line of scrimmage when managing what Stanford asks of its quarterbacks. He improved this past offseason and now he has to show that's the case in a top-15 matchup.

Helping Chryst on the field will of course be featured running back Bryce Love, but a lot of attention will be on the renewed use of multiple tight end sets. Dalton Schultz echoed Shaw that he was looking forward to what they could do with three tight ends in the passing game. And he only smiled when asked if there were any four tight end sets Stanford was practicing.

All four of Stanford's scholarship tight ends expected to play this season caught a pass in the first half against Rice: Schultz, Kaden Smith, Colby Parkinson and Scooter Harrington. It's a young group but it's one with the skill sets needed to create mismatches that Chyst can quickly see and exploit.

And if Stanford can avoid turnovers in the passing game, while hitting enough big plays, then that may be enough to win yet another fiercely contested game against USC.