Oregon (7-1) heads south to face USC (5-3) in Los Angeles on Saturday riding a seven game win streak and berth in the Pac-12 title game on their agenda. The Trojans have every reason to be highly motivated as they lead the Pac-12 south but have a couple teams right at their heels.
Duck Sports Authority analysts Scott Reed, Dale Newton and A.J. Jacobson convened once again to offer their score predictions for this solid Pac-12 matchup.
Reed
I may not be popular this week. This will be the most difficult game since Auburn. Considering Oregon has won its last two games by a combined 6 points, that is concerning. USC may not run the Air Raid as well as WSU, but they have better athletes. They are loaded at wide receiver, have a big, strong, mobile quarterback and a speed-burner at running back. Defensively, USC has the most talented backfield Oregon will see this season.
While the Trojans have been prone to giving up some big plays, they are better than their record and control their own destiny. They need this win to stay alive in the Pac-12 South. They will be focused and Michael Pittman will be the best receiver Oregon sees all season. I had begun to believe that this iteration of Oregon defense was going to be dominant. I could accept a Washington State anomaly, but the defense has struggled two weeks in a row; I think USC’s offense is better than Washington; that could mean a lot of points. Despite a lot of talent, Oregon has been inconsistent on offense for a majority of the season. I see this game as
USC 38 – Oregon 31
Newton
Mario Cristobal readily acknowledges that a road game with USC is a particular challenge for the Ducks. "We recruit Southern California hard," he said this week. The game represents both extra motivation and additional distraction for Oregon's large contingent of Southern California players. On the field, they'll be facing the most talented roster in the conference.
The Trojan wide receivers, led by Mycah Pittman's big brother Michael, are scary. Michael had 7 catches for 156 yards and two fourth quarter touchdowns in last week's come-from-behind win at Colorado. The rest of the group, Tyler Vaughns, Drake London, Amon-Ra St. Brown are all sleek and fast. Vaughns and Pittman each have 50 catches this season, for a combined 1393 yards.
Elevated to starter after an opening game injury to starter JT Daniels, freshman quarterback Kedon Slovis has thrown for 1625 yards and 13 touchdowns. He's been intercepted 5 times. The Ducks are a 7-point favorite, partly because SC is riddled with injuries at running back, defensive line and secondary. One key to a win will be getting pressure on Slovis. The Ducks pass rush started strong this year but it's been AWOL in their last two games, both nail-biters. Oregon struggled against WSU's Air Raid in Autzen, and USC's has better talent.
USC 38 - Oregon 24
Jacobson
This has the makings of being a very tough game no matter how you slice it. On the road against any Pac-12 school is no gimme and USC has the talent to beat anybody on any given day. The fact that the Ducks are favored by a little over a field goal is remarkable given that the Trojans have had some good wins and close losses in their 5-3 record.
Matchup-wise, the Ducks have an advantage with the left side of their defensive line versus the right side of the USC OL and could exploit it. No matter how banged up they may be, the Trojan skill position players will be a handful, particularly in the passing game.
Oregon’s OL is obviously good but so is the USC DL with Jay Tiufele, Marion Tuipulotu and Drake Jackson. Caleb Tremblay is a very good pass rush specialist.
The middle may be an area where the Ducks have an opportunity as their LB’s Hufanga and Greg Johnson are not great in pass coverage at this point in their careers.
The Ducks may have a coaching advantage and they have been a more consistent team. I am going to go with the consistently good team that is going into the game fairly healthy.
Oregon 37 – USC 34
