Fight On, Forever!

Phil Steele’s Week 12 Marquee Matchups - Orlando Sentinel
#4 OREGON vs #18 USC
The Ducks are off a convincing trip to Stanford in which they dominated the Cardinal scoring 53 points on 63 offensive plays led by RB James who looked like a Heisman candidate with 146 rush yards (7.3) and 3 TD’s. UO has the Civil War on deck while the Trojans come in after an impressive showing vs Washington as they outgained the Huskies 426-244 (season low in yards for UW). Both teams have been ranked in the last seven meetings and the higher ranked tm has won five of the last six (UO pulled the upset in ‘09). Last year the situation clearly favored the Trojans who were hosting the #1 team at home looking for revenge but after taking a 32-29 lead, gave up 24 unanswered and lost 53-32. The last time here, the game was tied 17-17 late 2Q but USC was outscored 30-3 and outgained 416-134 (59 yds on their final drive) in a 47-20 loss. While a blowout isn’t expected, another Duck victory is.
PHIL’S FORECAST: OREGON 38 USC 31