When No. 9 USC comes into Autzen Stadium this Saturday to take on No. 5 Oregon it will mark the first ever matchup of top-10 teams in the stadium’s history.
The game, set to kick off at noon, is one of several the Ducks (6-1, 3-1 Pacific-10 Conference) have played in this year that have garnered national attention and produced a lot of media hype.
Senior right tackle Geoff Schwartz said that the hype won’t interfere with the team’s focus.
“We’ve played games this season that were nationally hyped and I think we’ve come out and proven that we can handle the hype,” he said.
Oregon coach Mike Bellotti agreed with the senior’s assessment.
“We’ve had some big games and our team has done a great job of focusing one game at a time,” he said. “I’m certain we’ll do the same thing this week.”
The Ducks have had a tough time with the Trojans (6-1, 3-1 Pac-10) recently, losing the last three contests. Even at Autzen the Trojans have had Oregon’s number, with an all-time record of 10-4-1. Schwartz said the team has learned the lessons of the past three losses.
“I think in the past we’ve just been too uptight. We’ve gotten too emotional over the game,” he said. “I think we just need to relax. It’s just another game against a good opponent and we’re at home with nothing to lose.”
And while many see this game as an opportunity for Oregon to rise in the BCS rankings, Bellotti said he sees it as just an opportunity to stay in the Pac-10 race.
“I think that’s the biggest motivation and all the rest of it is sort of gravy,” said Bellotti. “You can’t rely on anything beyond that because there’s a lot of football left.”

“We’re in this thing, and we want to stay in this thing whether this thing is the conference race or anything beyond that it’s all one game at a time,” he said. “We have a tremendous challenge, a tremendous opponent this week in USC and a tremendous game for everybody; our fans, their fans and the nation.”
In a game that features the Pac-10 conference’s top offense in Oregon (550.9 ypg) versus the conference’s top defense in USC (252.1 ypg) Bellotti said that the Oregon offense will try to be a bit more balanced than it was in its last game against Washington. The Ducks will still look to run the ball first though, he said.
“I think you need balance, I always preach that. We basically go into a game with the idea of a balanced attack,” he said. “We also go in with the idea that if we can run the ball we’re going to run the ball until you stop it.”
The challenge for the Oregon offense will start on the line of scrimmage, where Oregon has dominated opponents this season to the tune of 294.4 rushing yards per game; but USC’s defense has allowed just more than 64 rushing yards per game.
“Their defense is extremely fast and big,” said Bellotti. “They’re well-coached and they do a nice job.”
“They’re unbelievable, they’re real good,” said junior center Max Unger. “They have a real active D-line up front, and probably the best defense we’ll face.”
USC coach Pete Carroll was equally complimentary toward the Oregon offense in his weekly press conference.
“This might be the most productive, the best offense that we’ve played since we’ve been here,” said Carroll. “They can do whatever they want to do with the running game.
“So this poses all of the problems you could ever want, or ever hate, as a defensive coach; with a big time runner, a big scheme, and then a running quarterback to tack on to that and a guy that’s efficient, as well,” he said. “Hopefully we can find a way to gear up and slow them down and give us a chance to win.”
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