No. 20 Oregon heads to Los Angeles on Saturday for a matchup with No. 12 Southern California that carries real weight this early in Big Ten play.
USC is unbeaten at 4-0 and already has one conference win in the books after a 42-35 victory at Rutgers last Saturday. Oregon comes in at 2-1 and is opening Big Ten play after finishing its non-conference slate with an 84-0 rout of FCS opponent Portland State. The Ducks shook off a 39-31 upset loss at Oklahoma State the week before, and that win over Portland State set a modern-era record for the largest margin of victory in a game.
The Trojans have leaned on quarterback Jayden Maiava, who leads the Big Ten in passing yards with 1,173 and passing touchdowns with 12. He threw for 277 yards against Rutgers as USC kept its fast start rolling. The Trojans are averaging more than 40 points per game, and running back King Miller has been a steady force with 338 rushing yards, a 5.3-yard average and three touchdowns.
USC’s passing game has been spread around, with four players already at 12 or more receptions. Kayden Dixon-Wyatt leads the team with 18 catches for 258 yards, while Trent Mosley has been the top touchdown threat with four scoring grabs and a 19.6-yard average per catch.
There have been plays on defense, too. Cornerback Prophet Brown has picked off two passes, including a 99-yard return for a touchdown at Rutgers. Even so, the Trojans had trouble slowing a winless Scarlet Knights offense that piled up 460 total yards.
Oregon has had USC’s number lately, winning the past four meetings. That includes a 42-27 victory last season in Eugene, the first matchup between the longtime Pac-12 rivals as Big Ten members.
USC coach Lincoln Riley said, "It's a team we obviously know well. A lot of the same players from last year's team," Southern California head coach Lincoln Riley said.
"It's a very talented football team with experience back. I'm looking forward to it, and it should be a great atmosphere inside the Coliseum."
For Oregon, quarterback Dante Moore has been efficient through three games, throwing nine touchdown passes without an interception. He played only a half against Portland State, but the Ducks still rolled behind a balanced attack. Evan Stewart and Dakorien Moore have combined for five touchdown receptions, and Messiah Hampton filled in after Jeremiah McClellan sustained a broken foot suffered prior to the Portland State game, catching two touchdowns against Portland State.
The Ducks are averaging 160.7 rushing yards per game and 4.7 yards per carry, though protection has been an issue with seven sacks allowed through three games.
Oregon coach Dan Lanning made clear that the focus stays on the task at hand. He said, "It's certainly not just another game.
We don't talk about all the scenarios that play out. We worry about the things that we can control," Lanning said.
"It's Big Ten play. That's different, right?
All that matters. We don't go through all the what-if scenarios.
We go through, OK, how do we prepare to be the best version of us for this game?"
In Other News...
Oregon Now Has One More USC Threat To Worry About
As USC builds toward its matchup with Oregon on Saturday at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, one of the quieter storylines around the Trojans is the possible return of defensive tackle Jahkeem Stewart. Lincoln Riley offered an update on Stewarts status this week, and the early-read is encouraging for a player USC has not had available this season because of a foot injury.
Stewart is still working his way back, but the fact that he is progressing adds another layer to a game that already carries real weight for the Trojans. If USC can get him back in the mix soon, it would give the front a welcome boost at a time when Oregon already has enough to sort through in a high-profile Big Ten showdown. [Read more 🡒]
USC Heads To Oregon With New Playmakers And Growing Concerns
USC is heading to Oregon coming off a Week 3 stretch that clarified a few things about the roster and raised a few more questions. On offense, King Miller and Kayden Dixon-Wyatt have started to look like real pieces for the Trojans, giving the unit some much-needed fresh production as the season starts to settle in.
Jayden Maiavas play has slipped, and Waymond Jordans role has shrunk at the same time, leaving USC to sort out what the attack is supposed to look like in a tougher environment. The defense has its own issues to clean up, too, with the run front and the secondary both showing the kind of inconsistency that could become a problem quickly on the road in Eugene. [Read more 🡒]
USCs Secondary Faces A Real Oregon Test At The Worst Time
Oregon is heading into its matchup with USC already short-handed at receiver, with Jeremiah McClellan sidelined by a broken foot and a reshuffled pass-catching group now asked to shoulder more of the load. For the Trojans, that puts an extra spotlight on a secondary that has been one of the better units on the roster, with Prophet Brown helping anchor a defense that will need to hold up against a Ducks offense still featuring names like Messiah Hampton, Dakorien Moore, Evan Stewart and transfer Iverson Hooks.
It is the kind of test USC could have used in cleaner health, because the Trojans are also managing their own injury concerns in the defensive backfield with Jontez Williams and Alex Graham. Even so, this is the sort of late-season matchup that can reveal whether a secondary is as sturdy as it looks on paper, and Oregon's depth at receiver offers enough talent to make the Trojans work for every completion. [Read more 🡒]