Before the football kicks off at 7:15 p.m. Saturday amid the roaring Autzen Stadium crowd and in front of a Fox Sports Net national television audience, there will be a moment of reflection.
Both the Ducks and the Trojans, as well as their fans, will take part in a national anthem that will join the Pacific-10 Conference rivals as united Americans.
They will stand proudly and honor their thousands of fellow citizens who lost their lives during the terrorist attack on America the fateful morning of Sept. 11.
They will again flash back to the dreadful images of the two 110-story buildings collapsing like a planned demolition and the horror that became of it.
And then, because they have to and because at this point in time, many want to, they will move on.
They will play football.
“It’s going to be nice to get back on track with all the stuff going on,” Oregon fullback Josh Line said. “In light of what has happened, it definitely puts a perspective on all this stuff.”
Certainly, “all this stuff” may not seem as important as it did earlier in the month, but Saturday’s Pac-10 opener between USC (1-1) and No. 7 Oregon (2-0) still carries great significance. And once that game begins, the emotion of the past two weeks will pour over into the emotion of the game itself and the recent history that these two teams have.
On a late October night in 1998, then-Oregon quarterback Akili Smith ran 62 yards across the Autzen Stadium turf for the go-ahead touchdown in the Ducks’ 17-13 victory against the Trojans.
A year later, USC again traveled to Eugene for a night game and again was dealt a crushing defeat. In a game that has grown legendary over time, the Ducks and Trojans battled, and battled and battled some more. Sixty minutes of action didn’t prove to be enough time.
And after two overtime sessions, the teams were still at a standstill. Finally, with the clock approaching midnight, Oregon’s third-string kicker Josh Frankel booted through a 27-yard field goal to give the Ducks a dramatic 33-30 triple overtime victory.
The following year, Oregon traveled down to the Los Angeles Coliseum and gave anti-Paul Hackett fans even more fuel for their fire when the Ducks beat USC on the road, 28-17, for their first win in the Coliseum since 1994. Joey Harrington exploded in the game for 382 yards and four touchdowns while tailback Maurice Morris showed off his elusive moves on the ground, picking up 85 yards on 32 carries.
Which leads the series back to Eugene for Saturday’s tilt, but this time the Trojans are coming to town without Paul Hackett, who was fired, and instead with former NFL coach Pete Carroll, who has instilled a newfound toughness in his team.
“I see a big change on their defense from last year,” said Line, who was impressed from watching the Trojans’ 10-6 loss to Kansas State. “They played together better, were more faster and played with more enthusiasm. They’re going to be fired up to play us, like all teams are these days.”
USC has also been keeping a close eye on Oregon. Carroll said that Oregon is “on the verge, in their eyes, of a great season” and is using the underdog card to fire up his team. While he believes his offense will rebound from its sub-par performance against the Wildcats, he has told his defensive players that they’ll have their hands full against Harrington.

“He’s a pro player without question,” Carroll said. “I’m preparing as if this is an NFL quarterback because of the things he can do and the kinds of ways that he can read. We’ll have to take care of business on our end of it, because if you don’t, he’ll tear you up.”
As for the Ducks’ defense, it’ll be keying in on Trojan quarterback Carson Palmer, receiver Kareem Kelly and speedy tailback Sultan McCullough.
“[USC] can improve dramatically,” Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti said. “With a new coaching staff, it takes a while to get everybody on the same page and if and when they do, watch out.”
Adding to the excitement and anticipation of the game is the fact that it will be played in the hyped up evening atmosphere and watched by fans across the nation.
“I love playing at night,” receiver Keenan Howry said. “I love it better than anything else in the world. It reminds me of high school when we played at night all the time.”
Added Morris: “I don’t know what it is, but there’s something about playing under the lights at Autzen.”
Considering the game time, the teams’ recent history and the carry-over effects of terrorist attacks on U.S. soil, Saturday’s match-up looks to be another Trojan-Duck game worth remembering.
“I do think that there will be times where they’ll reflect on what’s occurred, but once the game starts, it’s the thrill, the enjoyment of physical participation,” Bellotti said. “But I know when they play the anthem, the kids will have a different perspective. They’ll appreciate what they have and take greater stock in what we do as a nation and a world.
“But once the game starts, the focus will take care of itself.”