USC football bold predictions for Week 11 matchup vs Oregon
Ahead of the USC-Oregon Week 11 college football showdown, let's make some bold predictions for Caleb Willams and the Trojans.
USC prepares to take on Oregon in Week 11 in what should have been an excellent college football showdown. However, USC's season has not gone the way they wanted it to. With Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams returning, the sky was the limit for the Trojans. Though everyone knew their defensive was not going to be mistaken for the Purple People Eaters, surely it couldn't be an absolute catastrophe that would hold back USC's title hopes, right?
Well, that's what ended up happening.
The USC defense has allowed the eleventh-most yards in college football this season at 436. Only three other Power Five teams have allowed more yards per game than the Trojans this season: The Colorado Buffaloes (469), the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (455.2), and the Stanford Cardinal (440.7). USC has also allowed at least 34 points in each of their last six games and at least 41 points in five of their last six. It's what prompted them to relieve defensive coordinator Alex Grinch of his duties after USC's 52-42 loss to the Washington Huskies last week.
Things won't get easier this week when the Trojans travel to Eugene to take on the sixth-ranked Oregon Ducks. Oregon only averages… the second-most yards per game on offense (539.8) and averages the most points scored in the country at 47.4!
USC is second in that metric at 45.5. This game looks like a potential shootout. That's one USC prediction. But this USC-Oregon game could use some more bold predictions.
USC allows 200 total yards to Oregon running back Bucky Irving
USC struggles everywhere defensively, and that includes stopping the run.
Tyjae Spears ran for 205 yards and four touchdowns in Tulane's Cotton Bowl win over USC a year ago. That trend has carried into this season and was especially the case last week against Washington.
Washington's running back Dillon Johnson carried the ball 26 times against USC's defense and turned that into 256 yards and four touchdowns. Cal running back Jaydn Ott ran for 153 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries the week before that. Utah's Ja'Quinden Jackson ran for 117 yards on 26 carries against the USC football team, and Arizona's Jonah Coleman ran for 143 yards on 22 carries while adding 37 yards on four receptions.
Plenty of running backs have had success against USC, but none of them are as good as Oregon's Bucky Irving. Irving is averaging 6.9 yards per carry as well as 8.2 yards per reception. Irving has seven games this season with at least 100 yards of offense and has six straight games doing such. The most he's accumulated in a game this season has been 180 against Washington State. If there were a game he could exceed two bills, it would be this one against USC.
Oregon wins by at least three touchdowns
USC gave it their all against Washington but ultimately came up short. USC will likely continue to play hard. It would be a surprise if they didn't. But it is at least fair to wonder where their psyche will be at after losing yet another game in heartbreaking fashion.
More frightening than that, however, is how complete a team Oregon is. Oregon is one of, if not, the most potent offenses in the entire country, as described earlier. But the Ducks are also one of the best defensive teams in college football. Oregon ranks 18th in the country in yards allowed per game at 301.7. They also allow the 11th-fewest points per game at 16. The Ducks are a complete team. The Trojans aren't.
Vegas projects Oregon as a 14.5-point favorite as things stand at the moment according to FanDuel. They think Oregon will win and win with a cushion. It wouldn't be a surprise if they win by more than that.
