At the start of this season, most Duck fans had two games circled on their calendar. The first was at Washington on October 14th, and the second was vs. USC on November 11th.
Washington and Oregon had been rolling through each opponent until their head-to-head matchup, and even though the Ducks lost, the Ducks vs. Huskies game turned out to be an instant classic.
USC, on the other hand, has had a disaster of a season. After coming into the season ranked 6th in the AP Poll, they’ve lost three games and are unranked.
Saturday’s matchup will be the final matchup between the Ducks and Trojans as members of the Pac-12, but next year they’ll remain conference rivals as they join the Big Ten. Overall, this game will be the 63rd matchup between these two schools. USC has won 38 of the games, Oregon has won 22, and there have been two ties.
The first Trojans vs. Ducks matchup took place in 1915 in Los Angeles, where Oregon won 34-0. Since then, there has been a lot of back and forth between these two teams. USC won a lot in the 80s and 90s, but Oregon saw a bit of a resurgence in the 21st century.
One of the most memorable games between these two teams came in 2012, a year after USC spoiled Oregon’s chances to go back to the national championship after losing in 2010. The game was played at the Coliseum, and the Ducks pulled off the upset 61-52. The Ducks sealed victory over the Trojans on a 22-yard Kenjon Barber run with 2 minutes left in the game for his fifth TD of the day.
The last time these two schools faced off was in 2020, in the Pac-12 Championship. Oregon won that matchup, 31-24, after leading the whole game against the No. 13 ranked USC. Oregon went on to play in the Fiesta Bowl that year.
On Saturday, we’ll see two of the nation’s premier offenses (and premier quarterbacks face off), and the entertainment they should provide. Regardless of USC’s defensive struggles, the Trojans still can challenge Oregon, and it will be imperative for the Ducks to start the game with more focus and discipline than they did against Cal.
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