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USC Trojans vs Oregon Ducks Football Preview

The Pac-10 script has been flipped.

For years, it was USC who would stroll into other teams’ stadiums as the top-ranked team in the land. Now, the Trojans get to see how the other half lives.

Ineligible for postseason play, USC’s de facto bowl comes Saturday when the Trojans play Oregon at the Coliseum at 5 p.m. PT. The game marks the first time that USC has hosted the polls’ No. 1 team since 1988.

The last three weeks have been unkind to top-ranked teams, as Alabama, Ohio State and Oklahoma have all suffered losses as visitors in hostile territory. But the Trojans will need more than recent history on their side when they face the Ducks.

Oregon’s 47-20 rout of USC last year was a catalyst in the unraveling of the Trojans’ seasons. And though the Ducks have struggled recently in the Coliseum, they are considered heavy favorites entering this year’s game.

USC will need its best defensive performance of the year to stop a Ducks offense that has scored 42 points or more in all of its games so far this year. The Blur offense may prove to be too much for a USC defense that has been decidedly mediocre on the year (ranked 60th out of 120 FBS teams in points allowed). The Trojans only recently implemented live tackling in practice in preparation for the Ducks.

Matt Barkley and company may have to keep pace with Oregon in order to pull off the upset. The sophomore signal caller is seventh in the country in passing efficiency and has a 20-4 touchdown-to-interception ratio. But his counterpart Darron Thomas is not far behind after his first 300-yard passing performance of the year last week against UCLA.

USC will also need a stronger late game performance than Oregon’s previous opponents, as the Ducks have given up just seven points in the second half all year.

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The Trojans’ confidence is riding high after passing the midpoint of the season. A 48-14 win against Cal and a week off has given USC reason to believe it can play the spoiler role for the BCS bowl picture.

But beating the Ducks will require doing something no other team has done this year: stopping LaMichael James. The diminutive running back is fifth in the country in rushing yards and is a leading Heisman Trophy candidate. USC is no stranger to his explosiveness, having been burned for 183 yards by James last year.  

After an attendance lull last week on the heels of two USC losses, a raucous atmosphere is expected for Saturday. ESPN’s GameDay will be in Los Angeles, and a Twitter-based grassroots campaign to “red out” the Coliseum has gained traction. Oregon’s Casey Matthews also revealed on Twitter the silver shoes that the team would be wearing for the game.

By Mike Schwartz
DFN Sports Staff Writer