Written by Robert Henry
On Saturday,, coming off a loss to the Washington State University Cougars on the road, the 14th ranked University of Southern California Trojans return home to face off against the Oregon State University Beavers. USC suffered a tough, close loss to Washington State by a score of 30-27 with the game being decided in the final minute. They look to bounce back against Oregon State (1-4) and get back on track. Oregon State has yet to win a PAC-12 conference game this year and are coming off a three game losing streak.
This may be the caliber of opponent and game that the Trojans need keep their championship aspirations alive. On the other hand, this game could be what the Beavers need to show the rest of the conference that they mean business. This is the first time that these two teams have faced each other in two years, due to the PAC-12 scheduling rotation. USC historically, has won the majority of the games in this series, holding an overall record of 61 wins to 11 losses. Oregon State’s last win on the road in this series was in 1960. From 1960 to now, USC has a 23 game winning streak when facing off against Oregon State at home.
The Trojans are lacking some key components on offense, with seven starters being out and three of them are lineman. This is an issue but with Oregon State having issues on both sides of the ball, the Trojans should be able to exploit that as a weakness. USC has also a 46 percent 3rd down conversion rate, which isn’t terrible but could be improved upon. If the Trojans can improve their conversion rate, they will maintain the ball longer, which in turn, will create more and more opportunities to put points on the board.
USC has a preseason Heisman Trophy candidate in quarterback Sam Darnold. He has played fifteen games in his career and is already in the top ten for all-time passing yards at USC. Darnold will be looking to regain some confidence as he has eight interceptions through five games this year, compared to nine for all of last year. This game will be an opportunity for him to show us all why he is the starting quarterback and a Heisman candidate. While some people may be watching for what Darnold will be doing during the game, a real gem of a player to keep an eye on is USC running back Ronald Jones II.
Jones is amongst the top leading rushers in the nation and is creeping hastily towards the top ten of all-time rushing leaders at USC. Another USC player to keep an eye on is wide receiver Deontay Burnett who stepped up and filled the big shoes that were left by JuJu Smith-Schuster, who is now in the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Burnett is also among the nations’ top receivers in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns. With Darnold and Burnett, the Trojans will be able to make big plays on offense and put them in the win column once again. The Trojans defense is still as strong as ever with linebacker Uchenna Nwosu, defensive end Rasheem Green and defensive end Christian Rector who have brought fear to the offenses they play.
The Oregon State Beavers has suffered three losses in a row and the latest came by the hand of the University of Washington Huskies. Oregon State head coach Gary Anderson will have to retool his offense and defense to have a chance to defeat the Trojans. It’s not an impossible task but when you look at how well Darnold and the rest of the Trojans have played, it could be difficult.
Oregon State’s starting quarterback to start the season Jake Luton was injured two weeks ago and backup quarterback Darell Garretson has taken over. This may be a blessing going forward for the Beavers. Garretson is no Darnold but the situation may play out the same for the young quarterback. Oregon State running back Ryan Nall is a player to keep an eye on as he has proven to be an effective running back, inching closer and closer to 2,000 career rushing yards. The Beavers also have wide receiver Jordan Villamin who is also edging closer to 2,000 career receiving yards. If Garretson can connect with both Villamin and Nall, Oregon State may give USC some trouble.
With a fire being lit under Darnold and the rest of the USC football team after the loss to Washington State, we will be in for a treat. The Trojans will be looking to bounce back and show not only the PAC-12, but the country as well that they are a team to fear moving forward. Oregon State will be looking to pull off the upset against the Trojans.
The Trojans are undoubtedly the better team but I do believe that we will be in for a great game. The game is at 1 P.M. PT at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, this Saturday. It will also be shown live on the PAC-12 Network.
This may be the caliber of opponent and game that the Trojans need keep their championship aspirations alive. On the other hand, this game could be what the Beavers need to show the rest of the conference that they mean business. This is the first time that these two teams have faced each other in two years, due to the PAC-12 scheduling rotation. USC historically, has won the majority of the games in this series, holding an overall record of 61 wins to 11 losses. Oregon State’s last win on the road in this series was in 1960. From 1960 to now, USC has a 23 game winning streak when facing off against Oregon State at home.
The Trojans are lacking some key components on offense, with seven starters being out and three of them are lineman. This is an issue but with Oregon State having issues on both sides of the ball, the Trojans should be able to exploit that as a weakness. USC has also a 46 percent 3rd down conversion rate, which isn’t terrible but could be improved upon. If the Trojans can improve their conversion rate, they will maintain the ball longer, which in turn, will create more and more opportunities to put points on the board.
USC has a preseason Heisman Trophy candidate in quarterback Sam Darnold. He has played fifteen games in his career and is already in the top ten for all-time passing yards at USC. Darnold will be looking to regain some confidence as he has eight interceptions through five games this year, compared to nine for all of last year. This game will be an opportunity for him to show us all why he is the starting quarterback and a Heisman candidate. While some people may be watching for what Darnold will be doing during the game, a real gem of a player to keep an eye on is USC running back Ronald Jones II.
Jones is amongst the top leading rushers in the nation and is creeping hastily towards the top ten of all-time rushing leaders at USC. Another USC player to keep an eye on is wide receiver Deontay Burnett who stepped up and filled the big shoes that were left by JuJu Smith-Schuster, who is now in the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Burnett is also among the nations’ top receivers in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns. With Darnold and Burnett, the Trojans will be able to make big plays on offense and put them in the win column once again. The Trojans defense is still as strong as ever with linebacker Uchenna Nwosu, defensive end Rasheem Green and defensive end Christian Rector who have brought fear to the offenses they play.
The Oregon State Beavers has suffered three losses in a row and the latest came by the hand of the University of Washington Huskies. Oregon State head coach Gary Anderson will have to retool his offense and defense to have a chance to defeat the Trojans. It’s not an impossible task but when you look at how well Darnold and the rest of the Trojans have played, it could be difficult.
Oregon State’s starting quarterback to start the season Jake Luton was injured two weeks ago and backup quarterback Darell Garretson has taken over. This may be a blessing going forward for the Beavers. Garretson is no Darnold but the situation may play out the same for the young quarterback. Oregon State running back Ryan Nall is a player to keep an eye on as he has proven to be an effective running back, inching closer and closer to 2,000 career rushing yards. The Beavers also have wide receiver Jordan Villamin who is also edging closer to 2,000 career receiving yards. If Garretson can connect with both Villamin and Nall, Oregon State may give USC some trouble.
With a fire being lit under Darnold and the rest of the USC football team after the loss to Washington State, we will be in for a treat. The Trojans will be looking to bounce back and show not only the PAC-12, but the country as well that they are a team to fear moving forward. Oregon State will be looking to pull off the upset against the Trojans.
The Trojans are undoubtedly the better team but I do believe that we will be in for a great game. The game is at 1 P.M. PT at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, this Saturday. It will also be shown live on the PAC-12 Network.