Oregon Football: 5 Sure-Fire Bets for Saturday's Game vs. USC Trojans

One week after an extremely impressive road win over Stanford, Oregon will return to Autzen Stadium for the rest of the year for two scheduled games and hopefully a third.

This week, USC comes to town and Oregon has not lost to the Trojans at home since 2005.

While the Trojans have certainly improved and are looking to get this year and sanctions behind them, the Ducks appear to be hitting their stride and are one of the hottest teams in the nation.

Here is a look at five sure-fire bets for Saturday's game against USC. 

LaMichael James Rushes for 150-Plus Yards

While it is true that as a team Oregon is hitting its stride, one of the main factors has been the return of LaMichael James to the offense.

James has quickly picked back up where he left off and has had impressive games against Washington and Stanford. 

Against USC in years past, James has been able to wear down the defense and continue to rack up the yards. In this year's matchup, there is no reason James cannot and will not rush for more than150 yards. 

Matt Barkley Is Picked Twice

Matt Barkley is going to be walking into a hornets nest on Saturday. For the second straight time that Barkley has played at Autzen Stadium, he has made comments that have fired up the fans during the week.

This year, Barkley made the comment that Oregon is not as good as it was last year, and he is right. Oregon is not as good, it's better.

Barkley's words may be fed right back to him as the Oregon defense just got done shutting down Andrew Luck and will look to create turnovers against USC's quarterback. 

Loudest Home Game All Year

Oregon fans are getting used to the idea that they have a great team and that the second half has become more enjoyable as the Ducks cruise to a double-digit victory.

This trend has continued this year as the Ducks have welcomed in Nevada, Montana State, Cal, ASU and Washington State. 

Against the Trojans, Oregon will need to remain focused on getting up early and pulling away in the second but also know that USC has the offense to keep pace. 

De'Anthony Thomas Scores Twice

This is the game that on national signing day both USC and De'Anthony Thomas circled on their calendars.

Before the final horn blew on national signing day, Thomas had a change of heart that led him all the way to Eugene and he has not looked back.

Last week against Stanford, Thomas did lose a fumble but also scored a critical fourth-down touchdown. Against USC, look for Thomas to have additional motivation and crack the end zone twice. 

The Pac-12 North Is Won

Chip Kelly is a genius and is even more difficult to beat at Autzen Stadium. In his three years at Autzen, Kelly has yet to lose and is an even more impressive 31-1 when teams do not have more then two weeks to prepare for Oregon. 

While USC certainly has the talent to win this game, the Ducks are on a roll and playing their best football of the year.

With another Oregon home win, the Ducks will clinch the Pac-12 North and set their sights on the Civil War matchup with Oregon State.