What's on the line for No. 6 Oregon football vs. USC Trojans
No. 6 Oregon (8-1, 5-1) vs. Southern California (7-3, 5-2)
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Autzen Stadium
How to watch: TV — FOX. Radio — KUJZ-FM (95.3) | Sirius: 133 | XM: 197
Southern California makes its long awaited return to Autzen Stadium Saturday night, and it is bringing the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner at quarterback leading one the best offenses in the country, a defense that’s in disarray and most likely, a team with giant chip on its shoulder following three losses over its last four games.
No. 6 Oregon (8-1, 5-1 Pac-12) will counter with a current Heisman Trophy contending quarterback, an offense and defense playing at an elite level, and the knowledge it can afford no mistakes over the final three weeks of the regular season in order to play for a conference championship and earn its way into the College Football Playoff.
“I’m excited and I know it’s going to be a really fun game,” Ducks quarterback Bo Nix said. “We get to play at night under the lights and that’s everybody’s dream, it’s where football is really fun.”
It’s been nine years since the Trojans (7-3, 5-2) last played in Eugene, a 48-28 win for the Ducks as quarterback Vernon Adams threw six touchdown passes in a late-November showdown in 2015.
Oregon and USC have played only three times since then — all in Los Angeles with the last being the Ducks’ 31-24 win in the 2020 Pac-12 Championship game.
When the 2023 schedule came out, Saturday’s game was expected to be a doozy, with both teams predicted to be late-season conference contenders.
The Ducks have lived up to expectations, with a 36-33 loss to No. 5 Washington the only blemish on their schedule so far.
The Trojans have been less impressive, mostly the byproduct of a porous defense that is allowing the most rushing yards, overall yards and points per game in the Pac-12. On Sunday, a day after USC lost 52-42 to the Huskies, coach Lincoln Riley fired defensive coordinator Alex Grinch.
The Trojans' past four weeks have also included a 48-22 loss to Notre Dame, a 34-32 loss to Utah and a 50-49 win against California.
Defensive line coach Shaun Nua and linebackers coach Brian Odom are now in charge of finding a way to stop the Ducks' offense, which leads the nation in points at 47.4 per game, is No. 2 in yards per game (538.7), No. 4 in passing yards per game (330.6), No. 11 in rushing yards per game (208.11), No. 2 sacks allowed (4) and is tied for No. 1 with Penn State for fewest turnovers allowed (4).
The Ducks will have to prepare for potentially some different looks for the USC defense now under new leadership.
“I think that that group will probably have some new wrinkles that we potentially haven’t seen,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning said. “But it all comes back to what football is all about — tackling, blocking, breaking tackles, making catches. So all those things are going to hold true."
USC's Caleb Williams leads the Trojans
The Ducks haven’t played the Trojans since 2020, but they did face Williams in 2021 when the then-freshman at Oklahoma led the Sooners to a 47-32 victory against Oregon in the Alamo Bowl, completing 21-of-27 passes for 242 yards and three TDs.
Williams left with Riley for USC the following season and went on to have a dream season, completing 333-of-500 passes for 4,537 yards, 42 TDs, five interceptions and winning the Heisman Trophy in a landslide.
He hasn't been as productive this season — 216-for-312 passing for 2,958 yards with 28 TDs and four picks — but he is still as dangerous as any player at his position.
"Caleb is certainly a hard one to prepare for," Lanning said. "... Holding the ball for long periods of time, and being able to keep his eyes downfield to create explosive plays, that’s one of the things that probably makes him most unique. Then the fact that you really can’t outrun his arm. It doesn’t matter how far the receivers are down the field, he’s always got the ability to throw it and does a great job of that. So he’s a tough one to prepare for.”
Williams has USC's offense playing at a high level. The Trojans are No. 2 in the FBS in scoring at 45.5 points per game, No. 5 in passing offense at 326.7 yards per game and No. 8 in total offense with an average of 487.0 per game.
The Ducks will attempt to stop them with a defense that ranks No. 11 in points allowed per game (16.0), No. 13 in rushing yards allowed per game (97.11) and No. 18 in total yards allowed per game (301.7).
“Everybody gotta come to play this week," Oregon safety Tysheem Johnson said. "Everybody do they job, and we’ll be good.”
Heisman-hype building for Oregon quarterback Bo Nix
The Heisman-hype continues to build for Nix, who is 18-4 as Oregon's starting quarterback and in the midst of the most efficient and productive season of his five-year collegiate career.
Nix has completed 235-of-301 passes for 2,723 yards, 25 touchdowns and two interceptions this season. He is the FBS leader with a completion percentage of 78.1% and is on pace to break the NCAA single-season record of 77.4% held by Mac Jones (2020, Alabama). He is also ranked No. 4 nationally in passer rating (180.14) and passing TDs, and No. 7 in passing yards per game.
The fifth-year senior is the most experienced quarterback in college football history with an NCAA record for quarterbacks with 56 career starts.
His 13,567 career passing yards is ranked No. 3 among active players and 17th in NCAA history. He also ranks ninth in NCAA history in career total yards (15,062), is tied for 11th in completions (1,157) and is tied for 19th in total touchdowns (131).
Per game statistical comparison
Scoring offense: Oregon, 47.4 points per game; USC, 45.5
Scoring defense: Oregon, 16.0 points allowed per game; USC, 34.5
Total offense: Oregon, 538.67 yards per game; USC, 487.0
Total defense: Oregon, 301.67 yards allowed per game; USC, 436.0
Rushing offense: Oregon, 208.11 yards per game; USC, 160.3
Rushing defense: Oregon, 97.11 yards allowed per game; USC, 186.5.
Pass offense: Oregon 330.56 yards per game; USC, 326.70
Pass defense: Oregon, 204.56 yards allowed per game; USC, 249.50
Turnover margin: Oregon, plus-8; USC, plus-2
Third-down conversion: Oregon, 55.24%; USC, 42.59%
Opponent's third-down conversion: Oregon, 32.28%; USC, 40.0%
Penalties: Oregon, 7.2 per game; USC, 8.3
Follow Chris Hansen on Twitter @chansen_RG or email at chansen@registerguard.com. For more sports coverage, visit registerguard.com. Want more stories like this? Subscribe to get unlimited access and support local journalism.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Oregon Ducks football vs. USC Trojans: What's on the line
