So with Oregon coming to town this weekend we start the toughest part of the schedule. A win this weekend keeps us moving closer to either the BCS Title Game or the Rose Bowl. A loss and we might as well book an early winter vacation because the bowl game we will get will less than stellar. Oregon comes in looking to make a statement after last years second half comeback by USC in Eugene in 2005. They haven't forgotten that loss so the will be looking for some revenge.
The fact that Oregon hasn't played in LA since the 2000 season and while there are a number of players on the Ducks roster from the La area none of them were on that 2000 team so they will have some measure of unfamiliarity for their first game at the Coliseum. As we have seen all season long everyone has lined up to take their best shot at SC because of the incredible run they had the past few years. So SC needs to be ready for this high powered Oregon offense.
SC needs to prepare for a couple of things for this game.
- Oregon leads the Pac 10 in passing defense so it will be a battle of match-ups as the Trojan receivers try to get the upper hand on the Ducks secondary.
- The Ducks rank 1st in the Pac 10 in rushing offense so the defensive front needs to get penetration to slow the RB's coming out of the backfield ,as they are sure to break through the lines, so that the LB's can make the stops.
- Oregon has a very good red-zone offense scoring 41 out of 48 times (85.4%) . They lead the Pac 10 in total offense and are tied for the top spot in the Pac 10 in scoring offense.
- SC has won 30 consecutive road games which also includes 21 straight conference wins.
- John David Booty leads the Pac 10 in passing with 245 yards per game
- And of course Pete Carroll is undefeated in November.
I hope to have a question and answer session with Addicted to Quack the great Oregon Ducks blog later this week.