USC football at No. 6 Oregon: Who has the edge?
USC football at No. 6 Oregon
When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Autzen Stadium, Eugene, Oregon
TV/Radio: FOX/790 AM
Records: USC 7-3 (5-2 in Pac-12), Oregon 8-1 (5-1)
Line: Oregon by 15
Notable injuries: USC: PROBABLE: RB MarShawn Lloyd (undisclosed); QUESTIONABLE: LB Eric Gentry (undisclosed), CB Christian Roland-Wallace (undisclosed); OUT: S Zion Branch (knee)
What’s at stake: There’s no more discussion of “implications” at this point in the season – what’s at stake, plain and simple, is a place in the Pac-12 championship game. If USC, amid an extremely public change at defensive coordinator, can somehow manage to topple Oregon, they’d have a clear path to the title game in Vegas with a subsequent win over UCLA. If they get run out of Autzen, though, it’d end any hope at a championship coming from a rocky 2023 season and likely accelerate some uncomfortable conversations around the future of USC’s current staff. At No. 6 in the CFP rankings, Oregon still has national championship possibilities with a win over USC, a win in the Civil War game over Oregon State and a rematch with Washington in the Pac-12 title game.
Who’s better? Oregon and USC have pretty equally dynamic offenses, with the Ducks’ attack more built around the one-two punch of Bucky Irving and Jordan James on the ground and USC’s built around the arm and legs of Caleb Williams. Oregon’s defense, however, has been consistently more stout, generating pressure from a variety of sources and holding Utah and Cal to six and 19 points, respectively – both teams that put up 30-plus on USC. The Ducks are the most complete team in the Pac-12.
Matchup to watch: USC’s linebackers vs. Irving and James. Washington’s lead RB Dillon Johnson had never run for more than 100 yards before steamrolling the Trojans for 256 last week, thanks largely to wide-open gaps he burst through untouched. Irving is arguably the best back in the conference. If that weren’t enough, there are questions about the status of linebacker Eric Gentry, who has been USC’s only consistent playmaker on defense across the past two games. With inside linebackers coach Brian Odom elevated to a co-defensive coordinator role after the firing of Alex Grinch – and likely calling the plays Saturday – it will be interesting to see if the Trojans’ linebackers can initiate contact earlier against the Ducks ground game.
USC wins if: They hold the Ducks’ backs to about 150-200 yards and force at least a couple turnovers, and Williams plays like he did (312 yards, four total TDs) against Washington.
Prediction: Oregon 45, USC 31. This is an inopportune road matchup for a Trojans team trying to find some sort of defensive spark.