Bullet Points on USC-Oregon Some key things which aren't really being discussed over the game but are very, very critical:
- USC will be the healthiest on defense as it has been all year. End Wes Horton will return from a back injury that knocked him out of the past three games. End Nick Perry has had extra time to rest a nagging ankle injury. And tackle-end Armond Armstead got time to rest various tweaks. Linebacker Malcolm Smith is still nursing a knee injury but he is expected to play.
- Monte Kiffin's 2 deep defense which did so well in Tampa is made more for stopping the pass, Oregon has 320 yards per game on the ground
- Oregon's secondary can be passed on, which plays into USC's strength as Barkley is more than a viable ariel threat
- USC has been in poor defensive form most of the year and has no where near the depth that they have had in years past. Oregon rotates 25 players on defense and 18 players on offense to keep up the pace of play
- Oregon's defense is a top 25 defense in terms of yards per play, but not overall yards per game. This is a result of how many plays the offense runs and creates more opportunities, approxmately 3 more possessions per game for the opponent to put together drives and add yards and points...
- Game management coaching edge with Chip Kelly over Lane Kiffin.
- Despite two, one-point losses for USC, they have greatly underperformed oddsmakers expectations, going 2-4 ATS, 4-2 SU. Oregon has only failed to cover once...
- USC is coming off a bye and will probably put forth their best effort of the year...
- As a Pac 10 devotee, my number for this game is Oregon -11...(maybe that should have been at the top b/c at the end of the day that's all we care about anyway)
Good luck to everyone...
