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| Oregon is going to rely heavily on their running game this Saturday. |
Of course the Trojans are going to be led by their Heisman hopeful quarterback Matt Barkley, who has thrown for 2,266 yards this season, with 25 touchdowns thrown and only 8 interceptions. Two of his favorite targets, Marqise Lee and Robert Woods will be looking to assist in taking down the number four ranked Ducks.
Oregon has something else in mind however.
Oregon isn't as strong at the pass as USC. USC is ranked 23rd in the nation for passing, while Oregon is ranked 84th. No surprise, USC is led by senior Matt Barkley, while Oregon is led by freshman Marcus Mariota, who has thrown for over 1,400 yards, 18 touchdowns and only five picks.
Another big key of this game will be the rushing game. Oregon is very strong at rushing while USC has struggled in that area. Oregon is ranked 3rd in rushing yards while USC is ranked 75th. Oregon's lead running back is Kenjon Barner, who has rushed for over 900 yards, and 14 touchdowns. De'Anthony Thomas is another back Oregon has, who has rushed for nearly 500 yards and 7 touchdowns. This duo is going to look to have a huge game against USC's 25th ranked defense, and lead the Ducks to victory.
Meanwhile, USC's running back, Silas Redd, has rushed for 640 yards, and hit pay dirt 7 times. Still not bad stats, but nowhere near Oregon's HB duo.
This game looks like it's going to be quite a good one. Oregon is phenomenal at the run, while USC does very well at the pass. Their defenses are ranked 24th and 25th in the nation. My gut says it'll be a high scoring game, but their defenses are only allowing about 19 points a game.
Last years game began looking like a blowout. Oregon fought back within three, and lost the game 38-35. Oregon was ranked #4 at that time, while USC was unranked.
I know both teams are going to play hard for this victory. Oregon is undefeated, while USC has already tasted defeat twice this year, once to Stanford and last week to Arizona. Lane Kiffin is going to have his Trojans ready to put a whooping on the Ducks in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, of course Chip Kelly is going to have other plans.
The game kicks off at 7:00 eastern time, and definitely looks to be quite a back and forth game. I honestly wouldn't be surprised to see a very high scoring affair, and then again, wouldn't be too shocked to see these two defenses hold the other offense in check. I'm looking forward to a barn-burner this Saturday night. It will definitely be worth checking out.
- Matt Lytle
@mattlytle
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