Southern California is playing as well as anyone in the country right now. Offensively, quarterback Carson Palmer has had the hottest hand in America, throwing 19 touchdown passes in his last five games, and has played as well as anyone at his position this year.

He also benefits from having a ton of talent around him. The Trojans are loaded at wide receiver with the trio of Keary Colbert, Kareem Kelly and Mike Williams, my pick for freshman of the year.

	Carson Palmer has been the hottest quarterback in the country in recent weeks.

They have solid backs in Sultan McCullough, Justin Fargas and Malaefou MacKenzie and an offensive line that has been solid across the board, and the play calling of offensive coordinator Norm Chow has allowed USC to have incredible balance.

The Trojans not only do a nice job of mixing things up between running and passing, but also in the distribution in the passing game. There are so many weapons in the offense that it is hard for opponents to pick up any tendencies.

This is the first time Palmer has been in the same system for two years in a row because of previous coaching changes, and he is now more confident in himself and the scheme. He understands the scheme well and his teammates have confidence, making for a heck of an offensive machine.

Second-year coach Pete Carroll has also done a great job of turning around the attitude of the Trojans and that's the reason they are winning. He has worked hard at getting the team to buy into his philosophy. They are playing more as a team and less as individuals.

Southern Cal is playing with more heart and hunger, which has a lot to do with why USC is reaching its potential and not underachieving.

Notre Dame's defense is going to have to play the way it has all year, which means holding the opponent in check with turnovers. This will be their biggest challenge of the season. Vontez Duff and Shane Walton form one of the best cornerback duos in the nation and their ball-hawking skills will be tested.

They will need to come up with some interceptions and the Irish front seven will have to continue to be difficult to run on.

Notre Dame has to make USC one-dimensional by taking away the run, getting Palmer in obvious passing situations and putting pressure on him. The Irish must stay within striking distance because their offense is not a catch-up offense.

Quarterback Carlyle Holiday and the ND offense are about the possession passing attack and the running of running of tailback Ryan Grant, and if the Irish get down by a couple of scores they are not equipped to come back. A big deficit would lead them to force things offensively and commit turnovers.

The game will be will be very competitive because of the emotions and the great history of the Notre Dame-USC rivalry. It will be a war early, but the Trojans are too talented and will pull away in the second half. Notre Dame will then have to take some chances and may end up turning the ball over.

USC wins by 14 points.

No. 11 Florida vs. No. 22 Florida State
Anytime something rocks a program or sends shockwave through a team one of two things will happen: it divides the team or the players circle the wagons and come together. When something happens during a rivalry week it is usually the latter of the two.

Florida State kicked recently-anointed starting quarterback Adrian McPherson off the team earlier this week, something that should bring this team together behind Chris Rix, who is back at the reins this week.

I would be surprised if FSU did not show up and play with a great deal of emotion now that everyone thinks it is going to get blown out by Florida. The 'Noles may not have the talent to win, but I would not expect them to come out and and just go through the motions because of all the turmoil. If anything, they will come in fired up and relishing the opportunity to prove the doubters wrong.

Florida State will play with a ton of enthusiasm at home and I think Rix will play well. But Florida's defense has been pretty good lately, giving up less than 300 total yards in each of the last three games, and Gators defensive coordinator John Thompson can put together a packages that will confuse quarterbacks and offensive lines. That unit will be too much for FSU.

On the other side, Florida quarterback Rex Grossman has not had the kind of year he hoped for, but if anyone who has watched the Gators closely knows that he has played very well. If wide receiver Travis Talyor comes back from injury he should hit some big plays through the air against Florida State's man coverage.

Grossman and the defense will lead the Gators to a tough, hard-fought win.

Kirk Herbstreit is an analyst on ESPN's College GameDay.