I’m nervous about this one. USC is going to be a heavy lift for the Ducks.

OBD has struggled against teams with high-powered passing attacks.

Hoping Dan Lanning has them prepared.

Go Ducks!

A terrific comeback by SC when it could have folded. It's not like Iowa has an awesome offense, but after the first half, SC shut down the Iowa O.

Perhaps Iowa was worn down by Oregon last Saturday, but SC on both LOS punched Iowa in the chops in the 2nd half.

I did not want an 8-2 SC headed to Autzen with PO hopes. And with Notre Dame blowing out Pitt today and Illinois taking care of Maryland, SC's 2 road losses are not PO crippling.

OBD opens at -7. It would be nice to get more guys out of the Duck MASH unit.

I was surprised Iowa went away from the run, but not surprised that at home, SC's athletes shone. And in lousy weather, SC drew a crowd at the Coli.

This will not be an easy out. This will be the second team with a Blue Chip roster Oregon will have played this season, and it hurts to say this, but SC is better coached than Penn State.

OBD's other Blue Chip opponent, Penn State, defeated Michigan State today to score the Nittany Lions' first B1G and P4 win of the season.

Throttle the Trojan Horse!

The refs did call penalties on Iowa this week. I guess USC is more B1G than we are...

3 hours ago, WTD25 said:

I’m nervous about this one. USC is going to be a heavy lift for the Ducks.

OBD has struggled against teams with high-powered passing attacks.

Hoping Dan Lanning has them prepared.

Go Ducks!

Which teams have we struggled against with a high power passing attack? Indiana is the only one. Rutgers and Minnesota had pretty good passing attacks and they had little success.

We have some of the best passing defense in the country statistically. It doesn't mean we are going to completely shut down their passing attack, but we can definitely limit them moreso than other teams have through the air. But they've also have had a lot of success on the ground.

It's clear we are going to have to put up points. I think it will be first to 30 wins.

Watched a lot of football, today, but did not watch tOSU. OBD have the most balanced offense and an outstanding pass defense. Special teams is good, as well. I wish that the pass rush would put more heat on the opponents’ QB, and that very well could happen Saturday vs USC.

I expect a win in both remaining games. We can run through the USC defensive line and their secondary will have a difficult time with our bigger receivers.

The mutts will not be a problem. I’m hoping for an injury free finish to what is shaping up to be a very successful regular season. Go Ducks!

8 minutes ago, Grandpa Duck said:

difficult time with our bigger receivers

You mean when we put three tight ends on the field and move them into a run blocking formation and then into a passing offense? Yeah... that's a headache I'm sure they'll have next week.

USC game set for 12:30. So much for the "Fright Night" Black Out repeat.

USC always has trouble in the trenches. I expect our DL will have their QB running for his life most of the game.

I'm anticipating Bear and Pregnon will have some insights on the Trojenz trenches. Not to mention an extra gear in their giddy-up going against old teammates.

The Trojans showed alot of grit and determination in the 2nd half against the Hawkeyes. Their D pitched a shutout and their offense did just enough to put points on the board to pull out a come from behind victory.

I feel the Trojan offense was hindered by the weather. Just like our Duck O was restricted against Whisky and the Hawkeyes.

OBD's utilized their powerful ground attack to win those games. It appears the game Saturday may have inclement weather. USC does not have a powerful ground attack, they score thru the air. Hope it pours rain and is windy.

USC's defense does not match up well to stop the Ducks rush attack.

Besides, if the weather is okay, USC has to go up against the best Duck Defense to take the field in along time.

The order of the week is to rest, heal up and then remind this talented Trojan team how they are not welcome at Autzen. And support why they wanted to get in a different conference away from Oregon.

Go Ducks......Take care of business these last 2 games.....

This is November football. To be the best the Ducks must beat the best. With the Trojans and Huskies on tap there is much to prove. It’s time to waddle the walk.

There can be no excuses. Go players! Go coaches! GO DUCKS!

I admit bias, but I believe these Ducks are built to succeed. The best is yet to come - Sinatra.

Edited yesterday at 03:06 PM1 day by Notalot

7 hours ago, kirklandduck said:

USC always has trouble in the trenches. I expect our DL will have their QB running for his life most of the game.

USC is significantly better in the trenches this year, although if they do have a weakness it would be pass blocking, but our defensive strategy is to pressure the QB without allowing escape lanes which is why we get home infrequently. We trust our secondary to hold up longer and defend the pass better.

Makai Lemon, like Serrat is going to make some catches. There is no defense for the perfect pass and catch.

I think if there is a weakness on USC's DL it's the edges. Their strength is in the middle.

I am happy that this game is at Autzen! GO DUCKS!

Where USC has shown genuine improvement is by rarely going in the troylet anymore every time they get behind in tough games. Could be headed for a 4th quarter shootout?

Autzen always raises to the occasion when LaLaland rolls into town. But this time? We need to get medieval on their a#*es.

Edited 16 hours ago16 hr by Washington Waddler
spelling

Yeah,

I would like some Pulp Fiction this game. USC is playing their best under Lincoln Riley to date. They are formidable throwing the ball. They will reveal just how far OBD secondary has improved. That matchup and the mysterious Dante Moore are the keys to this game. If Moore balls out like he is capable of, OBD will stomp the condoms. If.

I was looking at some numbers and wow have Oregon and USC both faced some lower ranked offenses:

USC:

Notre Dame #25

Michigan #50

Nebraska #69

Illinois #70

Georgia Southern #75

Michigan State #80

Purdue #91

Northwestern #95

Missouri State #98

Iowa #118

Oregon

Indiana #6

Montana State #14 (FCS)

Rutgers #40

Oregon State #86

Northwestern #95

Penn State #108

Iowa #118

Oklahoma State #120

Minnesota #124

Wisconsin #133

So, both defenses probably have at least slightly elevated defensive stats; but, the good news is Oregon is ranked #3 in total defense and USC is #50.

USC gave up 34 points and 442 yards to its top 40 offense faced (including 306 rushing). 4.5 points and 16 yards under Notre Dame's averages.

Oregon allowed 30 points and 326 yards to Indiana (13 points and 152 yards under its average) and 10 points and 202 yards to Rutgers (20 points and 219 yards below their average). If one wants to throw in Montana State they were held 26 points and 199 yards below their average.

So, looking at it from an outsider's perspective, Oregon's #3 overall defense might be helped out by half its opponents rated outside the top 100 in total offense; but, USC facing 8/10 opponents rated #69 or lower in total offense might be helping it's #50 overall total defense ranking too.

USC's offense looks elite, Oregon's offense looks near elite, Oregon's defense looks elite (to near elite) and USC's defense looks really about right on FBS average, and the game is at Autzen.

My initial guess is Stein and company may have a spring in their step this week. USC's front has been described as "more athletic than physical" and on the back end I guess they have been using a lot of cover one with man-to-man. Stein should be open to attack any way he chooses.

Edited 10 hours ago10 hr by AnotherOD

From advanced stats, not including the Oregon/Minnesota and Iowa/USC games (only non-garbage time regulation snaps):

Points Per Drive:

USC: 3.71 (#2)
Oregon: 3.33 (#8)

However, Points Allowed Per Drive:

Oregon: 1.13 (#4)
USC: 2.26 (#72)

And yards per play:

USC: 8.07 (#1)

Oregon: 7.19 (#5)

Defensive yards per play allowed:

Oregon: 3.75 (#1)

USC: 6.07 (#92)

2 major concerns: Lack of a good pass rush (almost no sacks). Pressure on the QB is really important...especially this game.

And.......lack of turnovers. We're not getting nearly as many as we have in previous years. Afraid Mavia will have a field day. Could be a high scoring game

1st time in nine seasons that GameDay is putting on Trojans.

Let's give Troy the whole Nine Yards!

https://trojanswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/trojans/football/2025/11/17/espn-college-gameday-usc-football-oregon/87311962007/?utm_source=smg-trojanswire-strada&utm_medium=email&utm_cam

Fingers crossed. Long-term weather forecast calls for 55 degrees and cloudy, no precipitation. 😉

RULE Riley! School SC!

4 hours ago, FG Lumber said:

2 major concerns: Lack of a good pass rush (almost no sacks). Pressure on the QB is really important...especially this game.

And.......lack of turnovers. We're not getting nearly as many as we have in previous years. Afraid Mavia will have a field day. Could be a high scoring game

We get a decent amount of pressures, we just don't get home for sacks as our strategy is to collapse the pocket without giving any escape routes to the QB.

1 hour ago, Jon Joseph said:

1st time in nine seasons that GameDay is putting on Trojans.

Let's give Troy the whole Nine Yards!

https://trojanswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/trojans/football/2025/11/17/espn-college-gameday-usc-football-oregon/87311962007/?utm_source=smg-trojanswire-strada&utm_medium=email&utm_cam

"This will mark GameDay’s first visit to a USC game since the 2016 season."

"The Oregon Ducks have been featured on ESPN's College GameDay 11 times from the 2016 season through the current 2025 season." (USC will be number 12.)

No wonder we live in their head rent free. There is nothing worse to their fans than simply being irrelevant while we steal the spotlight over and over...

This will be our 3rd Game day appearance this year. I expect us to act like we've been there before. We'll see if USC can handle it.

Hopefully the SoCal of it all will get a lot of Ducks hyped up. I mean we can never match the level of Hype that Coach Subprime inspired but the California connection is a biggie for some players.

7 minutes ago, Utki said:

Hopefully the SoCal of it all will get a lot of Ducks hyped up. I mean we can never match the level of Hype that Coach Subprime inspired but the California connection is a biggie for some players.

Excellent point. For players from So Cal, they know just about everyone they know will be watching the game and they will want to show out.

58 minutes ago, Solar said:

"This will mark GameDay’s first visit to a USC game since the 2016 season."

"The Oregon Ducks have been featured on ESPN's College GameDay 11 times from the 2016 season through the current 2025 season." (USC will be number 12.)

No wonder we live in their head rent free. There is nothing worse to their fans than simply being irrelevant while we steal the spotlight over and over...

This will be our 3rd Game day appearance this year. I expect us to act like we've been there before. We'll see if USC can handle it.

And yet, USC is featured in the lyrics of the college gameday intro. song while Oregon is just one of many teams mentioned as part of the list…