Project CFB Top Ten: #6 Stanford Cardinal

If there was any question about how Stanford would do without Andrew Luck at quarterback, last year’s Cardinal Team answered with a resounding “Just fine.” David Shaw improved on his first season as head coach in 2011 with a final record of 12-2 and a Rose Bowl win in 2012, Stanford’s first since 1972. Looking forward to this college football season, it appears Stanford hasn’t lost any steam and is #6 in ProjectCFB’s preseason Top Ten.

Contributing to that ranking is the playmaking ability of Junior QB Kevin Hogan who took over the reigns for Josh Nunes in the middle of the season last year. Hogan has been named to the pre-season watch list for the Maxwell Award, which goes to the nation’s top player and is looking to build on his short resume after last year’s late season heroics that saw him lead Stanford to three victories against ranked opponents and a MVP award in the Pac-12 Championship before their win against Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl.

Several other Cardinal names have been appearing on pre-season watch lists. Safeties Eric Reynolds and Jordan Richards are being eyed as possible Jim Thorpe Award winners. Reynolds has also been listed on the Bronko Nagurski Trophy list. Also on the Nagurski watch list and the Bednarik watch lists are Ben Gardner, Trent Murphy and Shane Skov. Murphy, a semi-finalist for last year’s Butkis Award led the Cardinal with 10 sacks and 18 tackles for loss. Standford leads the NCAA with the most pre-season selections for the Outland Trophy, presented to the best offensive lineman. Kevin Danser, Cameron Fleming and David Yankey are all on the list as well. If Stanford can live up to these pre-season accolades, the Cardinal could have college football’s best offensive line, making things very difficult for opposing defenses who attempt to get at Hogan and the Cardinal offense.

Coach David Shaw seems to be settling in nicely to his role as head coach after Jim Harbaugh’s defection to the NFL after the 2010 season. Shaw in his second year at Stanford was able to accomplish what Harbaugh could not, a conference championship. And if not for what some considered a controversial call to end the Notre Dame game, Shaw’s Cardinal team seemed to be on track for the BCS Title Game.

The Cardinal will have to deal with a stout schedule if they want to achieve what Coach Shaw says is their goal every year…winning the conference and the Rose Bowl “the only things they can control.” Stanford begins the season facing off with San Jose State, who almost upset the Cardinal last year in their route to a surprising 11-2 season. Stanford’s last half of the 2013 season is full of tough Pac-12 foes. The Oregon State, Oregon, USC and Cal games all lead up to the match-up with the Cardinal’s toughest non-conference opponent, Notre Dame. It is safe to say the Cardinal teams has had that game circled on their schedule, itching for the opportunity to take down the opponent who knocked them out of the BCS title dreams last year.

For many in the college football world, Stanford has the skills to do what no one else has been able to do for the past seven years: knock the SEC from the BCS title throne. They have the defense to take on the speed that typically defines teams in the Southeastern Conference and the Cardinal have the overwhelming offensive line to squelch the SEC’s hearty defensive lines. This 2013 Cardinal team is primed and ready to defend their Pac-12 Conference championship and possibly win their first BCS championship.

​​- Amy Norris
@amyjane72
amy.projectcfb@gmail.com

How Did The USC Sanctions Shift The Balance of Power in the Pac 12?

Back in the mid-2000s the USC Trojans were easily the most dominant program in the country. During that impressive run of national championships and Heisman Trophy winners in quarterbacks Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart as well as electrifying running back Reggie Bush (more on that in just a second) head coach Pete Carroll was on top of the college football world. They looked to be on the fast track to becoming one of the dynasties in college football history. Then after an NCAA investigation regarding what was referred to as "lack of institutional control" from 2004-2009 by not only the football team, but the men's basketball and women's tennis teams as well. But for the sake of this writing, I will not dive into the basketball and tennis aspect of the sanctions and focus on the football side of things, I mean... This is a college football blog after all, right?

The football violations were centered around the aforementioned Reggie Bush and the alleged interaction with several marketing agents and his acceptance of several monetary payments from what would be classified as an agent, not to mention a house purchased for Bush's family as well as a luxury car fitted with high dollar rims and stereo system. In light of the findings the USC football team was penalized severely by the NCAA (partially, in all fairness due to the lack of cooperation on USC's part, many writers feel). The Trojans were banned from post season play following the 2010 and 2011 seasons, and a scholarship reduction of 30 total scholarships over the 2011, 2012 and 2013 seasons, and all wins from December 2004 through the 2005 season, including the USC national championship victory over Oklahoma were vacated, and to top it all off, all of Reggie Bush's records and his Heisman Trophy were vacated. Any images and/or video of Bush also were removed from all NCAA related television and other forms of media.

Since those initial 2010 sanctions we have seen the Oregon Ducks and Stanford Cardinals become national powers, and UCLA, Washington and Arizona State have all made significant strides in not only recruiting but in the win/loss columns as well. Which brings up the question, did the USC sanctions have a significant impact, if any on the reemergence in the quality of football played out west? Now, let's not beat around the bush, in the mid-2000s the USC flat out dominated the Pac 10 at the time, now Pac 12. During that run from 2003-2009 the Trojans won the Pac 10 championship 6 times. Pure domination. Which obviously makes recruiting relatively easy, especially on the west coast with no significant football program in your region. 

Since the sanctions were handed out, naturally the Trojans have came back to earth with zero Pac 12 championships and Oregon and Stanford have taken control of the Pac 12 and with the hiring of Jim Mora Jr the cross city rivals UCLA have made some noise and expectations are high in 2013 for the Bruins. Washington and Arizona State have also made significant strides since 2010. I truly do believe that the bowl ban and scholarship reductions altered the ability of the Trojans to recruit top level talent. The lack of bowl appearances would obviously scare many top level recruits away and teams in the Pac 12 like Oregon, Washington and UCLA have began the swoop in and take advantage. The scholarship reductions also changed the number of incoming freshmen coach Lane Kiffin and company can bring to campus as well. The sanctions have brought the Trojans back to earth, and now the Oregon Ducks and Stanford Cardinals have become the class of the Pac 12 and the previously untouchable Trojans are "just another team" with the Arizona State's and Cal's of the conference.

- Josh Gamez

@itsjoshgamez

josh.projectcfb@gmail.com

Does Golden Boy Marcus Mariota Have the Midas Touch to Take the Ducks to Pasadena?

The pundits have spoken and have made predictions about what 2013 will hold for college football, specifically a zero-to-hero quarterback from the west coast, Oregon’s Marcus Mariota.  

Mariota, a redshirt sophomore from Honolulu, Hawaii, was ranked 123 for quarterbacks in the 2011 rankings.  With a 68.5 completion percentage, 32 TDs, and nearly 3000 passing yards, his #6 ranking at the end of the 2012 season (his redshirt freshman season) caused the college football world to remember the name, Mariota.

Entering the 2013 season, Mariota is one of this year’s golden boys.  But does he have what it takes to lead Oregon to victory at the Rose Bowl this January?

Taking a look back at some of the most recent preseason golden boy quarterbacks leaves one to question if this preseason factor is enough to bring the Waterford football home.

2012: Matt Barkley and his USC Trojans were both ranked #1 in the preseason.  The Trojans made the history books that year, but as the first team since the 1964 Ole Miss Rebels to go from #1 in the AP Poll to unranked.  Needless to say, their 7-6 finish was not what they hoped for, nor the pundits predicted.

2011: Pick a golden boy: Terrelle Pryor (Ohio State), Andrew Luck (Stanford), Kellen Moore (Boise State).  The most successful out of that group was Kellen Moore who led Boise State to a 12-1 season.  Luck and the Stanford Cardinals also did well, ending the season 11-2 and tied with Oregon for first place in the North Division.  They did not get to play in the Pac12 Championship game because of their head-to-head loss to Oregon earlier in the season.  But the top ranked preseason QB that year, Terrelle Pryor, led the Buckeyes to their first non-winning season since 1999.

2010: All of the spring and summer talk was about FSU’s Christian Ponder.  He led the Seminoles to a 10-4 season and a spot in the ACC Championship game.  Which, they lost.  

In fact, the last time a preseason top ranked QB took his team all the way was Tim Tebow in 2009.  The time before that?  Matt Leinart with his 2004 Trojans.

The bottom line is that based on these patterns and despite Mariota’s ideal 6’4” 211 lb. build, his razor-sharp accuracy (only six interceptions last year) and uncanny athleticism (nearly 800 yards rushing, five rushing TDs and one reception for a TD), the Ducks will need more in order to win in Pasadena.

Fortunately, the NCAA sanctions that were filed Wednesday against Oregon will have little effect on their 2013 BCS championship dream.

-Lindsay Simpson

@lindsaysimpson

lindsay.projectcfb@gmail.com

Josh's Top Five Pac-12 Quarterbacks

1) Kevin Hogan (Stanford)
2) Marcus Mariota (Oregon)
3) Brett Hundley (UCLA)
4) Keith Price (Washington)
5) Taylor Kelly (Arizona State)

With two of the top 10 teams in the country last season, the Pac 12 had no lack of talent on both sides of the ball. Going into 2012, the conference from top to bottom looks just as good, if not better, than 2012. Perennial powers like Stanford and Oregon both were pleasantly surprised by the performances by their signal callers, Kevin Hogan and Marcus Mariota, and both shined on the biggest stages. Between the two of them, you could make a solid case for either being #1 over the other. However, Hogan once he took over as the starter, was among the most effective quarterbacks in the country. Mariota was equally impressive and ran former coach Chip Kelly's up tempo offense to perfection and the leadership he displayed as a freshmen was extremely impressive.

Brett Hundley, who is coming off a phenomenal 2012 campaign, comes in at 3rd on the list who was a major part of the UCLA turn around under head coach Jim Mora Jr, and may be #1 on this list by seasons end. Washington's Keith Price who had an up and down 2012 season looks to return to his 2011 form that was highlighted by an all everything performance in the 2011 Alamo Bowl in which he went throw for throw (and rush for rush) with reigning Heisman trophy winner Robert Griffin III in a losing effort in one of the best Bowl shootouts this side of the 2005 Rose Bowl. If Hundley and Price play as well as they are capable of the Pac 12 should be even more fun to watch in 2013.

Finishing out the list is the Sun Devils' Taylor Kelly, who is coming off of a solid freshmen season is a potential Pac 12 player of the year candidate rounds out the top 5 and with Kelly, Hundley, Hogan and Mariota all sophomores this season, the play from the quarterback position out west should only get better from here on out.

- Josh Gamez

@itsjoshgamez

josh.projectcfb@gmail.com

#1 Notre Dame Fighting Irish at USC Trojans Preview

Saturday night in prime time, the #1 ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish will head into Los Angeles Coliseum with two things on their mind. Number one, is beating the USC Trojans. Number two, is if they beat the Trojans, they are pretty much guaranteed to be playing for the National Championship. The last time the Fighting Irish won the National Championship was 1988, so it's something that they have been itching to do for quite sometime.

Although we can't look past the Trojans. USC is normally led by Heisman hopeful quarterback Matt Barkley, but after injuring his arm, Barkley will sit this important game out, and freshman quarterback Max Wittek will take the snaps. Wittek hasn't had much experience, throwing less than 100 yards and only one touchdown. But he has a supporting cast that will definitely make his job at quarterback a little bit easier.

Marqise Lee looks to upset the #1 Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Wittek will be looking to another Heisman hopeful in sophomore wideout Marqise Lee. Lee has reeled in 107 catches for 1,605 yards and 14 touchdowns. Lee has made Matt Barkley's job as Trojans' starting quarterback easier, and he'll look to do the same for Max Wittek Saturday night.

But the wideouts don't stop there. Junior wide receiver Robert Woods has also had quite a season, catching the ball 66 times for over 700 yards and 10 touchdowns. Wittek will definitely have some reliable receivers at hand to help him out Saturday night. Although Notre Dame's defense is ranked number one at points allowed, only allowing 10.1 points per game. And another Heisman hopeful, Manti Te'o will be looking to spoil Wittek's hope for an upset of the #1 team.

USC's backfield is also looking rather impressive. Junior running back Silas Redd and senior Curtis McNeal have combined for over 1,300 yards and 11 rushing touchdowns. They'll look to make Wittek's day a little easier as well, gaining a lot of yards on the ground and opening up the option to pass it down field, spreading Notre Dame's defense thin.

Notre Dame however, isn't lacking at offense either. They're averaging about 200 yards rushing per game, and they can thank both running backs for that. Senior backs Theo Riddick and Cierre Wood have gained a combined 1,454 yards on the ground and 8 rushing touchdowns.

But the Brian Kelly's team's offense doesn't stop there. They are also equip with sophomore quarterback Everett Golson who has thrown for over 1,900 yards and 11 touchdowns, with only five interceptions thrown. And that's not counting Tommy Rees. Rees has only thrown for 436 yards and two touchdowns, but he's a natural leader that has came into the game and led critical scoring drives. Coach Kelly loves to have the ace up his sleeve that he can pull out if he needs to.

Golson has two wide receives that he's hooked up for for over 1,000 yards and eight touchdowns. Their names are Tyler Eifert and TJ Jones.

Manti Te'o is looking to prove to the skeptics that he
deserves the Heisman hype, and that ND deserves the #1 spot.

On paper, the matchup looks fairly even. USC has the nod in passing yards and points scored per game, while Notre Dame has the better stats in rushing yards and points allowed per game. But without Matt Barkley, the USC Trojans are going to have a hard time defeating the #1 ranked team in the country. There are many skeptics that say Notre Dame isn't as good as a #1 ranked team should be. But Brian Kelly, Everett Golson and of course Manti Te'o beg to differ. With big victories over Michigan State, Michigan, Stanford and Oklahoma, the Fighting Irish feel they deserve every bit of that #1 ranking, and they'll look to prove it Saturday night at 8:00 PM ET on ABC.

Can USC pull the upset? Stranger things have happened. But like I said, with Barkley out of the game, and with a freshman in as starting QB, it's going to be a tough task. We'll see what happens! Should be interesting.

- Matt Lytle

@mattlytle

#5 Oregon Ducks at #15 Oregon State Beavers Preview

Saturday at 3:00 in Corvallis, Oregon, the #5 Oregon Ducks will take on their in-state rival #15 Oregon State Beavers. Oregon is coming off of a shocking overtime loss to Stanford while Oregon State is coming off of a blowout against Cal.

Oregon looked to go on to the National Championship game against Notre Dame if they would have gotten by Stanford, but unfortunately for Chip Kelly and the rest of the Ducks, that didn't happen.

Of course with them being ranked #5, if the right teams lost, and they won out, I guess they could possibly still find their way into the National Championship picture, but it's looking unlikely.

Marcus Mariota has thrown 29 TDs
and only 6 INTs.

Although Oregon probably won't be looking at the National Championship picture, their freshman quarterback Marcus Mariota could still possibly be looking at the Heisman picture. Although he has quite a bit of competition, Mariota has looked really impressive this season, throwing 201 completions in 288 attempts, for 2,371 yards, 29 touchdowns and only six interceptions. Pretty good stats if you ask me.

Mariota has a solid, Heisman hopeful in the backfield by the name of Kenjon Barner. Barner, who is a senior this year, has rushed 220 times for 1,426 yards and hit the endzone 19 times. Barner is quite the work horse for the Oregon Ducks, and will look to continue his impressive stats against the Beaver's defense, who is giving up an average of 18.6 points per game (Oregon is giving up an average of 21.8 points per game).

Oregon State is led by sophomore quarterback Sean Mannion, who has had a pretty good year. He's thrown 149 completions in 238 attempts for 1,904 yards, but he has only thrown 12 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. His touchdown to interception ratio isn't even close to Mariota's.

OSU also has freshman running back Storm Woods in the backfield. What a cool name huh? Woods has rushed 143 times for 698 yards and seven touchdows.

Markus Wheaton has 977 receiving yards, and 10 TDs.

The biggest weapon the Beavers have on offense is in their wide receivers. Although sophomor Brandin Cooks has had a pretty solid year, reeling in 59 catches for over 1,000 yards and five touchdowns, their senior WR Markus Wheaton has caught double the touchdowns (he has 10 touchdowns this season), although he hasn't had as many yards (he only has 977 yards catching in 68 attempts). If Mannion can connect to Wheaton and spread the Ducks' secondary thin, that opens the game up for the Beavers to be able to control it until the final whistle.

It's going to be quite a tough task though, especially with Oregon coming off of it's first loss of the season. It's usually not an easy thing to beat a one-loss team after their first loss of the season. But in college football, crazier things have happened.

This game will kick off at around 3:00 PM ET Saturday afternoon. It should definitely be a good matchup. Both teams have offensive and defensive fire power, but I have to give the nod to the Oregon Ducks. They're going to come into this one hungry to get a W after that tough loss against Stanford.

I got a blowout...

Oregon: 52
Oregon State: 28

- Jackson McNamara

@jacksonmcnamara

#13 Stanford Cardinal at #2 Oregon Ducks Preview

Saturday night at 8:00 PM ET on ABC, the #13 Stanford Cardinal travel to Eugene, Oregon to take on the #2 Oregon Ducks. Both teams are atop of the PAC-12 North, and although the Ducks look to have the division on lock, Stanford is still looking to pull the upset. Not only could Stanford shut down the Ducks' hope to play for a National Championship, but they could also shut down Kenjon Barner's campaign for the Heisman Trophy.

Kenjon Barner is looking to add to his Heisman Trophy
campaign tonight against the Stanford Cardinal.

Kenjon Barner has rushed for 1,360 yards this season, and scored 19 rushing touchdowns. He is definitely a Heisman hopeful, and looks to add on to his impressive stats tonight inside Autzen Stadium. Oregon's rushing game is ranked third in the nation, averaging 325.1 yards per game. Many of those yards are because of Kenjon.

Freshman quarterback Marcus Mariota will also look to be apart of the Ducks beating Stanford and improving their record to 11-0 this season. Mariota has been rather impressive this season with 2,164 yards thrown and 28 touchdowns. He has worked for these stats, but he has two key receivers that have made it a little bit easier for him. De'Anthony Thomas and Josh Huff are those two receivers. Thomas has 378 receiving yards and four touchdowns while Huff has 355 yards and seven touchdowns.

Freshman QB Kevin Hogan wants to lead Stanford to
an upset over #2 ranked Oregon.

Stanford is led by freshman quarterback who just worked his way up to starting QB (Kevin Hogan). Although he hasn't started that many games for Stanford, he has been rather impressive, throwing 447 yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions. For a freshman, he isn't doing too bad. However, playing against another starting freshman QB in Marcus Mariota, is no small task.

Stanford's senior running back, Stepfan Taylor has a little over 1,000 yards rushing and nine rushing touchdowns. Taylor will look to have a dominant day in leading Stanford to pulling the upset in Eugene.

The key to this game for Stanford is going to be shutting down Oregon's running game. Definitely a tough task, if they can shut down Kenjon Barner, and maybe make freshman quarterback Marcus Mariota to make a couple of mistakes, the Stanford Cardinal could definitely pull this upset. However Oregon's offense has been insane, being able to score almost at will. Stanford is up for a tough task tonight at 8:00, but in college football you never say never.

- Matt Lytle

@mattlytle

#18 USC Trojans at #17 UCLA Bruins Preview

Another marquee game this week features a PAC-12 showdown of the Southern California schools as #18 USC travels across town to #17 UCLA. Both teams have had strong seasons this year and both have different means of motivation. This game will feature lots of big time talent and a couple of high profile coaches as well. While UCLA has been playing really well as of late, USC will be a tough challenge for the Bruins to overcome.

Having won their last four games, UCLA is riding a nice wave at the moment. Coming off of a blowout win against a ranked Arizona team, UCLA nearly had a letdown against a less-than-mediocre, Washington State team before finding themselves and pulling out a victory. In addition to conference standings, UCLA has even more riding on this game as they have not beaten USC since 2006.

#18 USC looks to take down rival #17 UCLA this weekend.

USC on the other hand, has not played as well as of late, losing two of their last three contests, albeit in close affairs. That being said, the Trojans came on strong at the end of last week’s game and both QB Matt Barkley and star WR Marqise Lee will pose a difficult test for the Bruin defense. Additionally, whether you love him or hate him, Lane Kiffin never fails to get his team ready when the cameras are on. This week is no different as the crosstown rivalry draws a lot of media attention.

What I’ll be watching for is how will UCLA respond to last year’s embarrassment at the hands of the Trojans (55-0)? How will they defend against USC’s strong passing attack? If UCLA can keep this game close late, they will be victorious; however I just don’t see Lane Kiffin and the Trojans allowing this to happen. Vegas has the line favoring USC at -4 which I feel is a pretty accurate spread for this type of game. Although I believe that USC will win, I’m just not sure that it will be beyond the spread as USC is having a rough year (3-7) against the spread.

The Sports Messiah’s Picks: UCLA +4, USC gets the win

- The Sports Messiah

#11 Oregon State Beavers at #14 Stanford Cardinal Preview

After two consecutive BCS appearances, the #14 ranked Stanford Cardinals now have a reputation to uphold. The University, the Fans, the Pundits, and everyone else, expect big things from the Cardinals. At 7-2, and after punting on the first two drives last week to 1-7 Colorado, Stanford Head Coach David Shaw benched starting QB Josh Nunes in favor of redshirt freshman Kevin Hogan. Hogan went on to lead 6 scoring drives and a rout of the Buffaloes, 48-0. While its easy for Stanford fans and players to get excited about this, they must be reminded that they were playing Colorado...and Colorado is no Oregon State. 

Saturday afternoon we are in for a treat with Oregon State vs Stanford

This feature match-up is taking place at "The Farm" at Stanford and will showcase the skills of young Stanford QB, Kevin Hogan. This game also features a battle between both of the teams sitting right behind Oregon in the PAC-12 and will more than likely be the odds on favorite to compete with Oregon for PAC-12 title. Additionally, the winner of this game could still be in line for a BCS birth, should Oregon play for the National Championship. The specifics of this game are really non-existent because the end result of the game is going to come down to the play of Hogan. While he looked great against Colorado, #11 ranked Oregon State is the 19th best team in the country for points allowed which means they will do their best to stifle the freshman QB. Conversely, Stanford could hold an advantage, because the only game tape that can be used for preparation against Hogan is last week's game against Colorado. Since he has played in no other games, this could pose a true challenge for the Beavers as they travel into Stanford. 

Either way, the fans all around are going to be treated to a great game and a true chess match as both teams need a victory in order to keep their hopes alive in both the BCS and PAC-12 contention. Stanford comes into this game holding a home field advantage and as a result Oddsmakers currently have them as a 4.5 point favorite (-4.5). With that being said, I honestly do not see any way that Oregon State finds a way to lose this game. They are tougher against the run which will put added pressure on the freshman QB. The score will remain low, but I definitely feel as though Vegas has this one wrong as Oregon State will leave the Farm with another victory.

The Sports Messiah's Prediction:  Oregon State wins and will cover (+4.5)

- The Sports Messiah

#4 Oregon Ducks at #17 USC Trojans Preview

Oregon is going to rely heavily on their running game this Saturday.

This Saturday the #4 Oregon Ducks travel to Los Angeles, California, to take on the #17 USC Trojans. This is a big hyped game (and rightfully so). Both teams have phenomenal offenses, and decent defenses.

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