More than any other opponent Oregon has ever faced, Carson Palmer knows Autzen Stadium.
And better than any Oregon opponent, Palmer knows what it’s like to lose to the Ducks.
USC’s fifth-year quarterback will make his fourth appearance on the Ducks’ pond Saturday in search of his first victory against Oregon.
“We’re a different team than we’ve ever been before when we played (Oregon),” Palmer told the Los Angeles Times. “We’ve gotten so many penalties at that stadium and have had so many dumb things happen to us. We’ve just got to do our stuff and win the game.”
Those wins at Autzen have been hard to come by lately for the Trojans. Despite owning a commanding 33-15-2 all-time record against the Ducks, Mike Bellotti’s teams have won four straight meetings.
USC’s last win in Eugene was
in 1993.

None of the teams’ recent meetings have been predictable, though. In fact, four of the last five meetings have been decided by four points or less — which has created some bad blood.
That, in part, likely has to do with the fact that Oregon has so many players from Southern California who want to beat their home school.
Prior to this season, Oregon added fuel to the rivalry when it posted a $40,000 billboard — of receivers Keenan Howry, Jason Willis and Samie Parker, all of whom are from Southern California — just a few blocks from the USC campus.
Suffice it to say, the Trojans were not exactly pleased about the
billboard.
And last year at Autzen, several Ducks and Trojans were involved in a pregame scuffle during warm-ups.
Like the off-field jabs, the play on the field has also been exciting and memorable in recent years.
Jared Siegel, then a freshman, drilled a 32-yard field goal with 14 seconds left to cap off Oregon’s 24-22 fourth-quarter rally last season.
The Ducks were able to start that drive, which started at the Oregon 24-yard line with 56 seconds left, thanks in large part to one of Palmer’s self-described “dumb” plays. While trying to eat the clock, Palmer threw an incomplete pass out of bounds, which gave the Ducks hope by stopping the clock.
Other than that errant throw, Palmer threw for 411 yards against the Ducks last season.
In 2000, Joey Harrington threw for 382 yards and four touchdowns in a 28-17 Oregon triumph.
In 1999, in what has been called one of the wildest games in Oregon history, the Ducks and Trojans needed three overtimes to declare a winner.
Oregon kicker Nathan Villegas’ 26-yard field goal with 33 seconds left in regulation sent the game into OT, but Villegas was accidentally injured by Harrington during the ensuing celebration and did not play in the extra sessions.
And the Ducks could have
used him.
USC and Oregon both missed field goals in the first overtime, and both teams scored a touchdown in the second OT. USC’s David Newbury missed again in the third overtime, setting up Oregon’s winning kick by third-stringer Josh Frankel.
Oregon 33, USC 30.
Phew.
Palmer, by the way, suffered a broken collarbone in the first half of that 1999 thriller and missed the rest of the season.
Oregon won 17-13 in 1998, but lost 24-22 on a missed kick in 1997.
“We’ve had some magic going on over everybody the past few seasons,” Bellotti said. “I think in every game we have found ways to win and hang in there when it seemed like it wasn’t going to work. We had Joey Harrington and some unsung heroes who stepped up for us and made some big plays in those games to win. It has been tremendously exciting for the fans, even though it can wear out the coaches a little.”
All of the recent success against USC means little to Oregon linebacker Kevin Mitchell.
“To me, if you dwell on the past, it’s going to come back and bite you,” he said.
For good measure, USC won 11 of 12 against the Ducks from 1972 to 1986, with the 1980 meeting ending in a 7-7 tie. Oregon won the teams’ first meeting in 1915, 34-0, but the Trojans won the next eight, including six straight shutouts.