No. 12 USC gets a huge chance to reset its season Saturday when No. 20 Oregon rolls into the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for a 4:30 PT kickoff on NBC.
This one carries weight everywhere you look. Lincoln Riley against Dan Lanning.
Jayden Maiava against Dante Moore. USC against Oregon, two West Coast powers whose series dates back to 1915 and has produced plenty of familiar pain for the Trojans lately.
Oregon has taken seven of the last eight meetings, including last November in Eugene, and it brings back much of the same core from that game.
Riley pointed directly to that continuity when talking about the Ducks.
“Same quarterback, a lot of the same receivers, they got a very good tight end, good offensive line,” Riley said. “We know obviously about their defensive line, a lot of those guys returning. A couple of new faces in the linebacking core and secondary.
“It’s a good football team, very talented football team. They got some experience back.”
Oregon has not lived up to the billing that followed it into the season. The Ducks survived Boise State in Week 1, then dropped a Week 2 game to Oklahoma State.
But that doesn’t make them any less dangerous. They still have talent across the roster, and they still look like a team capable of hitting USC with everything at once.
The Trojans, meanwhile, are trying to shake off a flat showing against a winless Rutgers team. Defensive issues have surfaced again under new coordinator Gary Patterson, and injuries have started to stack up on both sides of the ball.
None of that changes the assignment in front of them. This is the kind of game USC has to have.
Maiava gives the Trojans a high-end answer on offense, and King Miller has added some needed balance by getting the run game moving over the last two contests. USC has also poured a lot into its defensive line, and that group needs to show it can be the difference in a game like this.
Home field has looked different for USC under Riley, and that matters here too. The question is whether that edge shows up Saturday night at the Coliseum.
The Trojans will also have plenty of eyes on the recruiting side of things. Of their 14 commitments in the 2027 class, 12 are expected to be in attendance. Lone Star (Texas) four-star quarterback Trey Wright, the lone USC commit in the 2028 class, will be there as well.
Among the non-committed visitors, McEachern (Ga.) five-star Casey Barner stands out. The No. 1 safety in the 2028 class has more than 50 offers. Pickerington North (Ohio) four-star safety Geo McKnight is also making the trip.
Santa Margarita (Calif.) 2028 four-star cornerback Ca’ron “Prime” Williams will be back at the Coliseum for the second time this season. He’s joined by a strong group of 2030 prospects from his school: linebacker Ayden Steen, defensive end KJ Herndon, receiver Kiyan Callis and athlete Jayden Jack, all of whom received USC offers in eighth grade.
The visitor list also includes several other Trinity League names: Mater Dei (Calif.) 2028 four-star safety Ace Leutele, Orange Lutheran (Calif.) 2028 four-star safety Chauncey Washington II, St. John Bosco (Calif.) 2028 four-star IOL Elisha Mueller and 2029 safety Darnell Lacy Jr.
Other notable visitors expected Saturday are Tustin (Calif.) 2028 four-star receiver Hayden Koo, Rancho Cucamonga (Calif.) 2028 four-star safety Terence Parsee, Garces Memorial (Calif.) 2028 four-star safety Jackson Parker, Capitol (Idaho) 2028 four-star receiver Quincey Clay, Grant Union (Calif.) three-star linebacker Julian Bruno and Jeanerette (La.) 2029 offensive lineman Blair Lewis.
In Other News...
USC Injury Trouble Could Reshape Oregons Biggest Test Yet
USCs unbeaten start has turned this weekends matchup with Oregon into one of the early seasons more consequential games, and it comes with plenty of uncertainty attached. The No. 12 Trojans are 4-0 and set to host the No. 20 Ducks at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Saturday afternoon, with playoff implications already hanging over a meeting that kicks off at 4:30 p.m. PT and airs on NBC.
Oregon enters as a slight favorite, but the bigger question for USC is availability. The Trojans may be without wide receiver Corey Simms and freshman Trent Mosley, injuries that could affect how Jayden Maiava and the offense attack a Ducks team led by Dante Moore at quarterback. For Oregon, it is a chance to test itself on a big stage against a ranked opponent that may not be at full strength, and the roster news could wind up mattering as much as the on-field matchup. [Read more 🡒]
USC Is Hiding A Coliseum Twist Before Oregon Arrives
USC has left one small but notable piece of theater hanging as Oregon prepares to visit the Coliseum: the Trojans have not yet announced who will serve as tunnel captain for the game. It is the kind of detail that usually gets buried under the football itself, but at USC it carries a little extra weight, especially with two familiar names sitting in the conversation in Reggie Bush and Pete Carroll.
Bush, the former Heisman Trophy winner, and Carroll, the coach most closely associated with USCs modern peak, both have deep ties to the program and plenty of appeal in a setting like this. The delay has only fueled the guessing game for a matchup that already has enough energy around it, and the answer will say something about how USC wants to frame the night before Oregon ever takes the field. [Read more 🡒]
USC Heads To Oregon With One Huge Lineup Uncertainty
USC arrives in Eugene with its offense still sorting through the fallout of a growing injury list, and the receiving corps has taken the biggest hit. Trent Mosley and Corey Simms are already out with knee injuries, while Terrell Anderson and Jahkeem Stewart are still hovering in that uncertain range that can force a staff to keep reshuffling plans deep into the week.
For Oregon, the real interest is less about who USC can list and more about how the Trojans will actually line up once the game starts. The return of Madden Riordan gives them a little more depth, but it also underscores how much of the burden is shifting onto players like King Miller and Riley Wormley as USC tries to patch together enough reliable options for a road test that could expose every thin spot. [Read more 🡒]