IT'S GAME DAY! No. 5 Oregon Hosts No. 9 USC in Pac-10 Game of the Year

You can hear the game live in Salem on 1430 KYKN AM, and 750 KXL AM in the Portland-metro area.

Dennis Dixon has 16 TD passes against only 3 interceptions in 2007. Photo courtesy: goducks.com

EUGENE, Ore. - The Ducks will attempt to keep their ground game humming, coming off their record-setting 465-yard performance at Washington last Saturday, when No. 9 USC comes to Eugene today. Kickoff is set for noon at Autzen Stadium with a live telecast on FSN.

THE SERIES:

• USC has a higher winning percentage against the Ducks than any other Pac-10 opponent at .698 and leads the all-time series 36-15-2.

• USC’s three-game winning streak against Oregon is the longest current streak by a conference foe.

• UO’s record against the Trojans at Autzen Stadium is 5-10-1.

• Prior to USC’s current three-game run, the Ducks reeled off four straight victories in the series, capped by a 24-22 win in Eugene on Sept. 22, 2001.

QUICK HITS:

• The game is the first ever between two top 10 teams (AP rankings) in the 41-year history of Autzen Stadium.

• Oregon boasts the top offense in the Pac-10 while USC has the top defense in the conference from a statistical standpoint.

• With 251 yards rushing and 32 carries at UW, JR RB Jonathan Stewart established career-highs and moved into the career top 10 for rushing with 2,109 yards to rank ninth.

• The Ducks are up to No. 3 in the nation in rushing yards per game at 294.4.

• The Ducks have scored 11 or more 1st-quarter points in six of seven games this season.

• SR QB Dennis Dixon has run for AND thrown for a TD in every game this season.

• Last week Washington became the first team to score points in all four quarters vs. the Ducks this season.

STEWART LATEST TO EARN CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:

For the second consecutive week, the Oregon Ducks have a Pac-10 Player of the Week, this time on the offensive side of the ball.

JR RB Jonathan Stewart earned the Week 8 honors after rushing for a career-high 251 yards and two touchdowns at Washington on Oct. 20. It was the second-highest total in UO history and most rushing yardage in the Pac-10 since the 2005 season.

The award was Stewart’s first Offensive POTW. He received the Pac-10 Special Teams Player of the Week honor following the regular season finale in 2005. JR DE Nick Reed earned the weekly defensive award for Week 7.

SEEING RED:

Since a late goal line fumble against California on Sept. 27, the Ducks have scored on 12 straight trips inside the Red Zone (20-yard line) over the past two games with 10 touchdowns and two field goals.

UO is second to USC in overall RZ scores, 34 to 33, but leads the Pac-10 with 26 touchdowns inside the 20.

On defense, the Ducks are the toughest conference team to score on inside the Red Zone, allowing a 66.7 conversion percentage.

CALIFORNIA CONNECTION:

While fans may lean more towards rivalries with Oregon State and Washington as games they anticipate the most, players sometimes offer a different perspective.

Sixty-three of Oregon’s 121 players currently listed on its roster hail from high schools located in the Golden State, including 24 of the 44 players included on the Ducks’ two-deep. Among those 63 California natives, no fewer than 46 of them hail from Southern California.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE:

Accentuating Oregon’s 6-1 start and top 10 national ranking (5th AP, USA Today, and Harris polls) is the fact that its schedule currently ranks as the sixth toughest in the country in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly I-A) based on the winning percentage of its 2007 opponents.

Those 12 foes have accumulated a winning percentage of .627 (47-28 vs. FBS opponents not including Oregon). Of the teams UO has already faced, neither Michigan (6-0) nor Fresno State (4-0) has lost since being defeated by the Ducks.

VS. THE TOP 25:

Although Mike Bellotti-coached teams have accumulated a 21-23 record against top 25-ranked opponents, the Ducks are 10-8 in Autzen Stadium since 1995 and 3-2 vs. the top 10 at home during that same span.

Saturday’s game vs. USC will pit two top 10 teams (AP rankings) against one another at Autzen for the first time in the stadium’s 41-year history.

ELITE VISITORS:

Oregon has hosted an opponent ranked among the nation’s top 10 on 21 occasions since Autzen Stadium opened in 1967, with the Ducks accumulating an 8-12-1 ledger.

USC’s 2005 win in Eugene snapped a five-game winning streak at home against elite visitors, with their 31-27 victory over Michigan in 2003 marking their last home win over a top 10-ranked foe.

The Ducks have played 25 games under Bellotti where both Oregon and its opponent were ranked among the nation’s top 25, with the Ducks accumulating a 14-11 mark on those occasions.

Source: goducks.com

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