As USC prepares to face Oregon, one common opponent in the Pac-12 showed how far apart the Trojans and Ducks really are.
We asked our Pac-12 football panel, “How much did the Utah game change your impressions of Oregon?”
Matt Zemek: Not much. A good team should make Utah’s offense look bad. I know it’s Salt Lake City, but Utah without Cam Rising and Brant Kuithe is a diminished team. I’m looking forward to Oregon-Oregon State later this season as a measuring stick before the big one in the Pac-12 title game. The team whose identity changed a lot as a result of the Utah-Oregon game was not Oregon, but USC. This game revealed the chasm between the Trojans and Ducks, mostly on defense.
Zachary Neel: I think it actually changed my impression a decent amount. I knew going into the game that Oregon was a really good team offensively, but I didn’t expect them to be able to do that to Utah’s elite defense. With as good as Oregon’s defense has proven to be this year, I came away from that game thinking for the first time that the Ducks realistically have a chance to compete in the College Football Playoff if they get there in December.
Matt Wadleigh: None, really. Utah beat a horrible horrid, terrible, putrid USC defense.
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