Oregon Ducks at USC Trojans, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA
Saturday, October 30, 2010, 8:00 pm Eastern, TV: ABC or ESPN Gameplan
Opening Line: Oregon -6
Current Line: Oregon -6 1/2
Opening Total: 73
Current Total: 72
Money Line: Oregon -240 /USC +200
Last year it was a truly frightful trip on Halloween for USC as they went to Eugene and were destroyed 47-20 by the Oregon Ducks. This year the Trojans try to get revenge and spoil the Ducks undefeated season. The Trojans are on probation and can’t win the conference title or go to a bowl game. Both sides are talking plenty of trash and don’t like each other at all. This is arguably Oregon’s toughest test, though they do still have to play Arizona and Oregon St. The Ducks are 19-35 as 3.5 to 10 point favorites against the college football point spread since 1992.
Oregon destroyed UCLA last week 60-13. The Ducks are putting up 55 points and 569 yards a game, including 303 yards a game on the ground. The Ducks also have forced 25 turnovers and only have 12 of their own. Oregon also have forced 19 sacks on the season. Defensively, the Ducks are allowing 16 points a game and 332 yards a game, including 127 on the ground. On offense, the Ducks are led by Heisman candidate running back LeMichael James who has 134 carries, 971 yards, and 11 touchdowns. James also has a touchdown catch. Quarterback Darron Thomas has thrown for 1,539 yards, 17 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions. He also has two rushing touchdowns. The top receiver for the Ducks is Jeff Maehl with 39 catches, 530 yards, and 6 touchdowns.
USC is coming off a 48-14 destruction of Cal last week. Quarterback Matt Barkley is having an outstanding year as he has thrown for 1,869 yards, 20 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. The Trojans are scoring 37 points a game and gaining 494 yards a game, including 213 yards on the ground. Allen Bradford (73 carries, 560 yards, and 4 touchdowns) and Marc Tyler (75 carries, 438 yards, and 6 touchdowns) split most of the carries. Robert Woods (32 receptions, 515 yards, and 6 touchdowns) and (39 catches, 464 yards, and 7 touchdowns) are the top receivers. The Trojans have a turnover margin of plus 2 and have forced 15 sacks. Southern Cal is giving up 400 yards a game including 274 through the air. As with most teams USC will have a difficult time dealing with the speed of Oregon. Sometimes Oregon doesn’t let more than 15 seconds run off the play clock between plays. Teams have been known to fake injuries to slow down the Ducks attack.
Oregon is number 1 in both polls while Auburn is number one in the BCS rankings. The past three weeks the number one team has gone on the road and lost a tough conference road game. Alabama lost at South Carolina 3 weeks ago, Ohio St lost as Wisconsin, and then last week Oklahoma lost at Missouri. USC certainly has the talent to make it 4 in a row, but they will have to play exceptional defense. The Trojans do have two losses on the season to Washington and Stanford both on field goals on the last play of the game. Interestingly, this is the first time USC has played a number one team in the Coliseum since 1992. The Trojans are used to being number one themselves not playing the role of underdog and spoiler.
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