USC is 3-0 and ranked No. 7 in the country. Some think the Trojans have quickly established themselves as a contender for one of the four College Football Playoff spots. Others think the defense will hold them back. USC is giving up 4.8 yards per rushing attempt this season (107th nationally). Opponents are getting 5.6 yards a play (81st) and nearly 400 yards of offense a game.

FOX Sports’ Colin Cowherd had Joel Klatt on his show Tuesday to discuss all things college football, and, of course, the Trojans came up.

Neither seem entirely sold on USC as a title contender yet.

“I get this label that I am pro-USC when I have been saying they’re not built right now to beat Utah, they are probably not built to beat Notre Dame — oh, they lost their quarterback, (USC) may be,” Cowherd began. “My takeaway has been (Oklahoma coach) Brent Venables inherited 11 wins, 11 wins, 11 wins, 11 wins, momentum, culture. Lincoln Riley inherited a tire fire and I don’t think he can fix both sides of the ball in one class.

“I think he fixed the offense, I do not think they’re good enough defensively to beat an Oklahoma, to beat a Georgia, to beat a Bama, to beat a Michigan, to beat an Ohio State. Do you?”

Klatt agreed.

“No,” he said. “The only defense they’re playing better than in the Pac-12 is Colorado, and that’s not saying much. The defense is 11th in the Pac-12 right now and the only thing they do well is steal possessions for their great offense. They’ve gotten 10 turnovers, they haven’t turned the ball over. Those 10 turnovers are tops in the country, so they’re doing well at that. They’re creating havoc plays, but they can’t just sit there and stop people, and eventually that may catch up with them.

“The more pressure you put on Caleb Williams and Lincoln Riley and that entire offense, you can’t have a bad on offense. I was in the booth when they had a bad day offensively against Baylor and they lost. That Baylor team was tough and physical and made things difficult on them.”

Klatt thinks the Trojans’ Week 4 game against Oregon State will tell us quite a bit. Cowherd agreed, saying the Beavers have two future NFL players on the offensive line and long, talented corners.

The Beavers are off to a 3-0 start with dominant wins over Boise State and Montana State — an FCS opponent, but one that played for the FCS national title a year ago — and ground out a win over Fresno State on the road in Week 2. Oregon State will bring a physicality into the game that’ll test the Trojans’ defensive front.

“I actually think this week is a really difficult game for USC,” Klatt said. “They’re going to Oregon State, and Oregon State is a place that USC historically has had problems with. Jonathan Smith, Oregon State’s head coach, is a really, really good coach. He’s going to be mentioned for all of these open jobs — Nebraska, Arizona State. And further, they were 6-0 at home last year. Two of those wins: Washington and Utah. … I think USC could be in a dogfight. It’s my almost-upset of the week, folks.”

The Trojans and Beavers kick off against each other Saturday at 6:30 p.m. PT on the Pac-12 Network.

You can see the rest of Klatt and Cowherd’s conversation below.