Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - A top-25 battle in the Pac-10 takes place this weekend in the Coliseum, as 25th-ranked Stanford invades Los Angeles to take a crack at the 11th-ranked USC Trojans.

Jim Harbaugh's third season on the Farm, has been his best, as the Cardinal are in the thick of the conference title race, sporting a 5-2 Pac-10 mark. Stanford is coming off its biggest win of the season, outlasting Pac-10 leading Oregon in a shootout last week, 51-42. The win was the second straight for the Cardinal which earned bowl eligibility with the win, as well as its first top-25 ranking since 2001.

Harbaugh knows what's at stake this late in the season.

"Going forward, this is put up or shut up time for Stanford football and for us to continue in the Pac-10 race to win the championship and we've got to win this week so we'll attempt to do both. Play the best of our god-given ability and not really talk about it, just try to be about it."

The Trojans have won the last seven Pac-10 titles, but have a lot of work to do to make it eight in a row. Pete Carroll's squad is 4-2 in league play, having lost to both Washington (16-13) and Oregon (47-20). USC was able to put some distance between itself and the embarrassing loss to the Ducks however, with last weekend's 14-9 victory at Arizona State.

In a series that dates back to 1905, USC holds a 59-25-3 advantage. The Trojans have won six of the last seven meetings, including a 45-23 victory in Palo Alto last season. Stanford snapped USC's five-game winning streak in the series in 2007, with a stunning 24-23 upset in the Coliseum.

It has been a great balance between the run and the pass this year that has kept the opposition guessing and Stanford in the win column. The Cardinal are one of a few teams in the country actually averaging over 200 yards per game both on the ground (211.0 ypg) and through the air (232.0 ypg).

Redshirt freshman QB Andrew Luck has been outstanding in his first season at the helm, completing nearly 60 percent of his passes, for 2,076 yards and 11 TDs, with a mere three interceptions. He has a pair of reliable targets in wideouts Ryan Whalen (43 receptions, for 719 yards, three TDs) and Chris Owusu (30 receptions, for 570 yards, five TDs).

However, the one player on the offense that worries most defensive coordinators is tailback Toby Gerhart. The senior tailback is having his best season ever, rumbling for 1,217 yards and 16 TDs thus far. He single-handedly dismantled Oregon last weekend, rushing for a career-high and school-record 223 yards and three TDs. Gerhart currently leads the Pac-10 and ranks second nationally in rushing at 135.2 yards per game.

Pete Carroll certainly knows his team must stop Gerhart.

"They have a real obvious core of their offense in Toby Gerhart, just a hammer back there running the football. They've built their style around his physical nature, and it's working very well for them."

With the offense clicking on all cylinders, the Stanford defense has been able to get away with inconsistent play at times. Opponents are averaging nearly 400 yards per game (388.9), while having great success with the pass (250.3 ypg). The Cardinal have to do a better job at forcing turnovers (just nine in nine games), as well as getting a more consistent pass rush (17 sacks).

Sophomore rush end Thomas Keiser has been the one real playmaker in terms of disrupting things upfield, leading the way in both TFLs (12) and sacks (7). Players like Keiser will need to step up to fill the void left by leading tackler Clinton Snyder (61), who suffered a season-ending knee injury in practice prior to the Oregon game. Others that will need to elevate their games the rest of the way include safeties Bo McNally (58 tackles) and Delano Howell (48 tackles, two INTs).

The USC offense is averaging over 400 yards per game (407-6 ypg), but is no longer the feared unit that could score at will. The 2009 version is more conservative than in years past, relying much more on the ground game (186.0 ypg), while allowing freshman QB Matt Barkley to not force plays down the field. Barkley has been solid despite his youth, completing 56.6 percent of his passes this season, for 1,839 yards and 10 TDs.

The one big problem in the vertical game is that the team relies way too much on standout WR Damian Williams, who paces the team in receptions (45), receiving yards (688) and TDs (five), all by large margins.

The ground game is fueled by a revolving door of talented tailbacks, headlined by Joe McKnight (790 yards, 6.2 ypc, seven TDs).

After getting tore up by Oregon two weeks ago, the USC defense put forth a much better effort at Arizona State. The latter is closer to what USC has done all season long, limiting opponents to just 18.0 ppg.

Despite the mass exodus to the NFL from last year's talented unit, USC still possesses plenty of playmakers on defense. Defensive end Everson Griffin has asserted himself as yet another gifted pass rusher for USC, leading the team with eight sacks. Freshman Nick Perry is following in Griffin's footsteps with seven QB takedowns. The linebacking corps is now anchored by Chris Galippo (53 tackles, 6.5 TFLs, 1.5 sacks, two INTs) and Michael Morgan (46 tackles, 12.0 TFLs, 4.0 sacks). The secondary is highlighted by two-time All-American Taylor Mays (team-high 62 tackles, one INT), who may be the best safety in college. Senior Will Harris (two picks last week against Arizona State) is another superb defensive back.