USC vs Oregon: Ducks Speed Will Trump Trojans Pro-Style Playmaking

Speed kills—something that Oregon knows from experience and will demonstrate once again when USC comes to Eugene on Saturday.

The Ducks have turned the employment of neck-twisting quickness into a veritable art form, leaning heavily on the likes of quarterback Darron Thomas, Heisman Trophy candidate LaMichael James and freshman phenom (and one-time USC commit) De'Anthony Thomas scamper their way to the top of the Pac-12 and back into the BCS National Championship picture.

That couldn't have been more apparent, even if it was visually difficult to follow, during Oregon's 53-30 thrashing of Andrew Luck and Stanford this past Saturday. The Ducks, long considered soft after suffering back-to-back losses to SEC powerhouses—to Auburn in the 2011 BCS title game and to LSU in the season-opening Cowboys Classic—went hit-for-hit with a Cardinal club long lauded for its toughness and physicality, wearing down Luck and his teammates before running over, around and through them.

Like the Ducks, the Trojans had little trouble scoring against the Cardinal, though they figure to find the sledding a bit tougher at Autzen Stadium again Oregon than it was against Stanford at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

As it happens, the Ducks have emerged as the chief benefactor of 'SC's recent demise. Chip Kelly's club has topped the Trojans quite handily in each of their last two meetings—47-20 on Halloween in 2009 and 53-32 on Halloween Eve the very next year.

The Trojans, though, will hardly be spooked this time around, not so long as Matt Barkley has time and space enough to find Robert Woods on a consistent basis. Lane Kiffin's bromantics have already connected 92 times for 1,126 yards and 11 touchdowns and will likely make the most of the continued absence of star corner Cliff Harris, who's missed the Ducks' last three games while sorting out his most recent traffic violations.

The key, though, will be USC's ability to slow down Oregon's speedy offense, or at least keep it off the field. The Trojans would be wise to pound the ball with running back Curtis McNeal to eat up clock and yardage while keeping the Ducks playmakers on the sideline and allowing their own defense to rest up.

Monte Kiffin's crew will need all the energy it can muster to keep up with a Quack Attack that regularly reaches the end zone in two minutes or less.

Realistically, though, the Ducks will romp to their 20th consecutive conference victory. The Trojans have proven to be a favorable stylistic matchup of late for Oregon and, assuming they're drawn into a high-scoring shootout, will be hard-pressed to keep pace with the nation's third-most prolific scoring offense.

If nothing else, the Ducks have too much to play for, with the Pac-12 North crown and a potential berth in the BCS title game hanging in the balance, while the Trojans have only the crosstown showdown with UCLA to look forward to.

And whatever dreams the Trojans have of quieting the crowd at Autzen Stadium, well, speed figures to kill those, too.