Autzen Stadium. The Ducks are 4-0 at home this season. When their season could have fallen apart against Purdue or Utah, the Autzen faithful helped the Ducks keep it together, and in the next two home games, they blew out Cal and Washington State. Eugene has been buzzing all week about USC coming to town, and with College Gameday showing up as well, the atmosphere in Autzen will be simply electric on Saturday. Oh, and everyone remembers what happened last time USC rolled into Autzen in 2007.
Masoli is running the spread offense perfectly right now. In the last five games Masoli has started, the offense has averaged over 41 points. It's hard to imagine USC completely shutting down Oregon's offensive game with the number of weapons it possesses.
The Ducks offensive line has been dominant. One of the biggest question marks heading into the season, the relatively inexperienced O-line has responded superbly. After one of his touchdown runs last Saturday, LaMichael James was seen on the sideline congratulating each one of his linemen. They are a big part of why he is averaging 6.9 yards per carry. Their pass protection has also been excellent, in the last two games, on a number of drop-backs, Masoli seemed to have an age to throw the ball.
The Ducks defense is ranked in the top 20 in the nation. Despite numerous injuries throughout the year, Oregon's defense is the best it's been in years. They've been able to consistently halt the opposition's running game, and get pressure on the opponent's quarterback. Most importantly, they've done it as a unit, rather than with one or two standouts. They made Jake Locker, the consensus best quarterback in the Pac-10, look decidedly ordinary last weekend, and seem as ready as they'll ever be for the even bigger challenge of shutting down USC's offense and Matt Barkley, who has looked very cool under pressure so far.
USC is overrated at no. 4 this season. First of all, USC lost to the Huskies, the team Oregon destroyed last weekend. Secondly, they narrowly avoided defeat against both Ohio State and Notre Dame. It took a phenomenal Matt Barkley-led drive deep in the fourth quarter to overcome an average Ohio State team, and Jimmy Clausen was one completion away from handing the Trojans their second defeat. USC hardly set the world alight at home against Oregon State last Saturday. Last time Oregon took on an overrated top 10 team in Eugene, Cal earlier this year, the game was over in the third quarter.
Five Reasons USC will win
USC has more pure talent on its team than Oregon. The strength of the program Pete Carroll has built is that it is filled from top to bottom with blue-chip talent. Matt Barkley was rated no.1 prospect of the class of 2009 by ESPN. Taylor Mays is a consensus top-10 draft pick in the 2010 NFL draft. Their stable of running backs, even minus Stafon Johnson, is one of the best in the nation.
USC possess the most talented offensive line the Ducks have faced. If the USC O-line is able to stop Oregon's defensive penetration, Matt Barkley will fancy his chances to pick apart the Ducks' inexperienced secondary.
USC's defense is stingy. Masoli and co. will not be able to run the ball all over USC as they have their last few opponents. The USC defense has only given up a little over 15 points a game, and allowed 2.4 yards per carry. LaMichael James can expect his toughest game yet, and that means Masoli is going to have to connect on more high-pressure throws.
USC doesn't lose games like this. Over the years, USC has made a habit of making things harder for themselves by dropping games to unheralded opponents, Washington this year, Oregon State in 2008, Stanford in 2007. In fact, the last time they lost to top-10 team was against the Ducks in 2007. Oregon has zero surprise factor for the Trojans this year, as they've had this date circled on the calendar certainly since the Ducks trounced Cal, and perhaps even since that loss in 2007.
USC knows its chance to play for the national championship depends on this game. After the Washington loss, USC might have thought they had blown their chance once again. But other results have gone their way, meaning that if they win in Eugene, they still have a chance at making a run at the national championship. That should provide the Trojans with all the motivation they need.
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