No. 23 Oregon will travel to Los Angeles for a Saturday evening showdown with the No. 9 USC Trojans in a game that still has conference title implications, despite the Trojans’ loss last week.
Put simply, it could make or break either team’s season.
If the Trojans were to lose their second game in a row to an opponent from Oregon, it would almost surely knock them out of the BCS national championship that nearly every analyst had the team as a virtual shoo-in for. A win puts them back in the running for their seventh straight Pacific-10 Conference championship.
The game is set for a 5 p.m. kick-off with a regional ABC or ESPN audience.
“This is an enormous opportunity for us to get back in the conference,” USC head coach Pete Carroll said. “We have to find our ways to get our wins here to go ahead and get us moving. It couldn’t be more challenging.”
For Oregon, which has no conference blemish yet, a win would put the Ducks back into the type of national discussion that surrounded them before their loss to Boise State two weeks ago. A loss could drop Oregon out of the rankings completely.
“This is a completely different animal going at them at home,” senior center Max Unger said. “I don’t know what ‘normal’ is for them but I don’t think losing is.”
The Trojans were ranked first in the country before losing to Oregon State a week ago in front of a national audience. In Eugene, there’s no doubt the Trojans will be looking for the kind of dominating win that was expected of them in Corvallis.
“They were undefeated and No. 1 and now they’re not, and I think there’s certainly a greater sense of urgency on their part,” Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti said.
The Trojans’ rushing defense, which appears to be their most vulnerable area, also happens to be one of Oregon’s biggest strengths.
Oregon’s rushing offense has averaged more than 308 yards per game – fourth best in the nation – on the legs of junior LeGarrette Blount and senior Jeremiah Johnson. The duo average 184 yards per game, two yards fewer than what Oregon State running back Jacquizz Rodgers ran for against USC last week.
“The new kid, Blount, coming in from junior college has really given them another element,” Carroll said. “Jonathan Stewart was a heck of a football player. But this guy runs maybe more physical, in a more physical nature about him.”
USC’s defense won’t be at full strength. Standout linebackers Brian Cushing (broken bone in his hand) and Rey Maualuga (sprained knee) are expected to play, but their impact won’t be known until kickoff. Fellow preseason all-American Taylor Mays, a safety, was seen coughing up blood on the sideline after a chest injury against the Beavers.
“(Oregon) throwing up 300-plus yards of rushing after we follow up a game, we didn’t play the run very well, really makes it hard on us,” Carroll said.
The game will mean a little bit more for nearly half the Oregon roster who hail from California. It will be Johnson’s first game against USC in his career, while Oregon defensive end Nick Reed, who played on the same high school team with USC quarterback Mark Sanchez, will be coming home to a large family contingent.
“We talked a lot about it’s not a visitation, it’s a business trip,” Bellotti said.
For the first time all season, Oregon had more takeaways than giveaways last week, claiming four Cougar turnovers to zero Duck turnovers. Keeping the turnover ratio in the Ducks’ favor is one of Bellotti’s goals each week, but against the Trojans it will be more crucial than ever.
“I think we are struggling a little bit with turnovers, and it’s probably a result of the youth and inexperience at quarterback,” Bellotti said. “We are making the turn in that regard and getting better each week.”
Only a week ago, USC was the No. 1 team in the country whose quarterback, Sanchez, was considered a Heisman candidate. Back at the L.A. Coliseum, where the Trojans have a .751 winning percentage since it opened in 1923, the Ducks expect no less than a duel with a team that beat up then-No. 5 Ohio State 35-3 on Sept. 13.
As Johnson, whom USC recruited as a cornerback, said, “They know what it feels like to be on top, so I’m pretty sure they want to be there again.”
[email protected]