Sep 14, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; USC Trojans wide receiver Marqise Lee (9) sprints down the sideline on his way to an 80-yard touchdown as he is trailed on the sidelines by head coach Lane Kiffin during the second quarter against Boston College at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

Deposed USC head coach Lane Kiffin appeared on ESPN’s The Herd with Colin Cowherd Thursday morning and revealed that he expects the Trojans to finish the season strong.

“Think of how strange this is,” Kiffin said. “USC is basically two missed field goals away from being 9-1 right now and in the talk of sneaking into the national championship. I think they’re going to run the table here the last three games of the year.”

Kiffin argued that USC and Stanford have evenly matched teams and styles. Both have strong front sevens on defense, both emphasize the defensive side of the ball while pounding the rock with a strong running game. For Kiffin, the Trojans have the edge with play-makers who are just now getting fully healthy, particularly wide receivers Nelson Agholor and Marqise Lee.

Kiffin also talked about Orgeron’s chances at the full-time head coaching position, saying he doesn’t think Orgeron’s struggles at Ole Miss should be held against him because all coaches need to face adversity in order to learn how to do things right.

However, Kiffin doesn’t think Orgeron is likely to stay as the head man at USC.

“I don’t know where they’re going. I would think Pat would start pretty high up,” Kiffin said. “Go get a big name that would come in that would be a sexy hire.”

You can listen to the interview, which started at 9:33, on ESPN Los Angeles.