The No. 22 USC Trojans (7-3, 5-2 in the Pac-12) have won four in a row under interim head coach Clay Helton, and head to Eugene to take on a resurgent Oregon Ducks team (7-3, 5-2 in conference). Oregon has won four in a row themselves and are now back in the Top 25 at No. 23 after last week’s big upset of Stanford.
How to watch USC vs. Oregon on TV or online, plus 3 things to know
A pair of Pac-12 teams riding hot streaks square off.
The Ducks have rediscovered themselves on offense with Royce Freeman, the Pac-12’s leading rusher, and quarterback Vernon Adams, who has thrown for 505 yards and six touchdowns in his last two games. USC had to sweat out a 27-24 comeback win at Colorado, but it still has one of the conference’s best pitch-and-catch combinations in quarterback Cody Kessler and wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster.
On defense, both teams bring some of the country’s top individual standouts, even if the overall units aren’t anything special. USC has studs like linebackers Su’a Cravens and Cameron Smith, while Oregon has defensive end DeForest Buckner.
These programs haven’t met since 2012, when the then-No. 2 Ducks took down Lane Kiffin’s Trojans, 62-51.
How to watch, stream and listen
TV: Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Online streaming: WatchESPN Link
Spread: Oregon is favored by 2.5 points.
Make friends: Trojans can talk about this matchup over at Conquest Chronicles, while Ducks can fly over to Addicted to Quack for the same.
Three big things to know
1. DeForest Buckner
Oregon’s senior defensive end leads the Pac-12 with 7.5 sacks, and with Oregon’s weak secondary the Ducks are going to need him to get after Kessler. The USC offensive line allows about 2.5 sacks per game so Buckner may have his opportunities.
2. Big plays galore
But that bad Duck secondary? Dead last in the conference with 125 passes of 10 or more yards allowed this season. That might not be the best thing against Kessler and Smith-Schuster, who have 115 plays themselves of 10 or more.
Oregon allows some 173 yards per game on the ground and 4.72 yards per carry. USC has been undefeated this season when it hit 40 rushing attempts as a team. It would be a good idea for the Trojans to put this game in the hands of freshman Ronald Jones II, who ranks third in the Pac-12 with nine runs of 20 yards or more.
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