Oregon -15 over USC
USC has not won in Oregon even against the beavers in the last three to four years. They have put together some nice wins against some decent teams but against the real tests in the season they are 0-2. Those tests IMO were against Stanford and Arizona St. Yes I give them credit for wins against Utah, Cal and ND but I just don't have a ton of respect for those teams. Looking over this game I'm impressed with the USC offense of late but the defense has made great adjustments as well. We all know Monty and that Tampa two will need to be strong if they plan to slow down the Oregon offense. I think the ducks have the advantage because they have seen Stanford, LSU and Arizona St. They have seen speed and power on defense and have been able to gameplan against it. Last year at USC the ducks won by twenty one. It is clear to all Oregon plays much better, quicker and make less mistakes at home. This is truly the last teat for the ducks with the civil war remaining but Oregon St having a bad year. I really like what I have seen from the ducks on defense. They use speed and a lot of false pre snap looks to get QB making wrong checks. The question is can the secondary stay on the talented USC receivers. The pre snap looks will help disguise the coverage but they still need to put some plays together from a young secondary. What is smart coaching is Oregon will put up to seven defensive backs on the field at times. This helps the off edge rush and makes it harder to know hot routes or match up adjustments. Barkley is a good QB and the running game has come fourth lately so a lot of defensive backs can be pushed off the ball and over powered. Can Lane Kiffen out coach the oregon ducks defensive co? I do not think he can and I think the duck defense will cause Barkley issues passing the ball. This is USC bowl game, they know that with all the NCAA sanctions this is there shot so I expect they are ready and willing. Oregon on offense have some nice formations to take advantage of the Trojan system. Kiffen uses his four down linemen and his LB and Oregon will stretch them out making the Tampa two middle harder to cover. Your asking a lot of these linebackers to cover all that space and still handle the read option. Over the course of the game we should see these linebackers get tired much like the Stanford game and that's when the ducks can really take advantage. Not only does the Tampa two burn a lot of gas for the backers but it puts a lot of heat on the linemen to get home. The more the ducks have the ball and the quick tempo will slow down the rush and open the field. As always you have James and Barner who will command the respect of linebackers and the safeties on play action. I like Thomas bur honestly some of his throws make me question his accuracy. Still he is a duel threat and that's always troublesome for a defense. The X factor is Black Momba Thomas, the committ of USC now playing for the ducks as a freshman. This kid is pure speed and is a big play guy. What I hate about him is it could be big plays for the other team because he struggles with ball control. He was a big problem when he coughed up the ball twice against LSU and almost a problem against Stanford when the game was more competitive. If he can hold onto the ball and get the edge he has break away speed and a tremendous acceleration burst. Lining him up in the slot gives Oregon a nice option for run after the catch yards. I questioned the ducks offensive line early in the season but this group has really progressed and they have give Thomas and the running game some big holes and open lanes. Looking over all these weapons and all this speed you often forget one of the best set of hands on the team is Paulson the TE. He is a nice option in the redone and passing plays down the middle. I expect he will get lost in the shuffle and make some drive sustaining plays. The WR for the ducks are nothing great, they certainly are not Woods from USC but they are fast and capable to get deep. The routes are not always the best but they all have talent. That being said DAnthony Thomas is there biggest threat at wide receiver. Now even though USC has played well they have been suspect in pass coverage and it has been a sore spot over the season. The ducks should be able to take advantage as the fame goes on. So what I like is origins defensive scheme and confusing a line that has had some issues. The speed of Oregon making it hard to pass block and Barkley being under pressure. Woods is great deep as well as the other USC wide outs but if Barkley has no time and can set his feet he may be under throwing which would get the duck secondary is the area to pick it off. Much like the Stanford game. I really like Kaddu in that spot because he is a fast force that can get that pressure. He plays end when the ducks go heavy on the defensive backs. I like the offense of the ducks to play beyond the conditioning of USC. I like the spread attack putting the linebackers in a compromising position. I like the read option against a secondary that has to help in run defense on the edge, this also helps playaction giving wide outs a step past the DB. Everyone likes James and Barner. I think the offensive line for the ducks should have a good day. I worry about the accuracy of Thomas, the ball control of black mamba and the questionable pass defense of the secondary on deep throws. I like the Oregon special teams. I would like if the ducks defense gets Barkley off his spot. I like the ducks tempo. I like Paulson as a playmaker. I like that defenseline is USC strength and the option will have them moving side to side not getting up field. I don't like all that chalk but I love home field advantage. Should be a good game to watch but I think Oregon is the better team and can pull away late and they don't like to let off the gas which means they could get on top and build that number until they are above that fifteen.
Cheers
Irish
USC has not won in Oregon even against the beavers in the last three to four years. They have put together some nice wins against some decent teams but against the real tests in the season they are 0-2. Those tests IMO were against Stanford and Arizona St. Yes I give them credit for wins against Utah, Cal and ND but I just don't have a ton of respect for those teams. Looking over this game I'm impressed with the USC offense of late but the defense has made great adjustments as well. We all know Monty and that Tampa two will need to be strong if they plan to slow down the Oregon offense. I think the ducks have the advantage because they have seen Stanford, LSU and Arizona St. They have seen speed and power on defense and have been able to gameplan against it. Last year at USC the ducks won by twenty one. It is clear to all Oregon plays much better, quicker and make less mistakes at home. This is truly the last teat for the ducks with the civil war remaining but Oregon St having a bad year. I really like what I have seen from the ducks on defense. They use speed and a lot of false pre snap looks to get QB making wrong checks. The question is can the secondary stay on the talented USC receivers. The pre snap looks will help disguise the coverage but they still need to put some plays together from a young secondary. What is smart coaching is Oregon will put up to seven defensive backs on the field at times. This helps the off edge rush and makes it harder to know hot routes or match up adjustments. Barkley is a good QB and the running game has come fourth lately so a lot of defensive backs can be pushed off the ball and over powered. Can Lane Kiffen out coach the oregon ducks defensive co? I do not think he can and I think the duck defense will cause Barkley issues passing the ball. This is USC bowl game, they know that with all the NCAA sanctions this is there shot so I expect they are ready and willing. Oregon on offense have some nice formations to take advantage of the Trojan system. Kiffen uses his four down linemen and his LB and Oregon will stretch them out making the Tampa two middle harder to cover. Your asking a lot of these linebackers to cover all that space and still handle the read option. Over the course of the game we should see these linebackers get tired much like the Stanford game and that's when the ducks can really take advantage. Not only does the Tampa two burn a lot of gas for the backers but it puts a lot of heat on the linemen to get home. The more the ducks have the ball and the quick tempo will slow down the rush and open the field. As always you have James and Barner who will command the respect of linebackers and the safeties on play action. I like Thomas bur honestly some of his throws make me question his accuracy. Still he is a duel threat and that's always troublesome for a defense. The X factor is Black Momba Thomas, the committ of USC now playing for the ducks as a freshman. This kid is pure speed and is a big play guy. What I hate about him is it could be big plays for the other team because he struggles with ball control. He was a big problem when he coughed up the ball twice against LSU and almost a problem against Stanford when the game was more competitive. If he can hold onto the ball and get the edge he has break away speed and a tremendous acceleration burst. Lining him up in the slot gives Oregon a nice option for run after the catch yards. I questioned the ducks offensive line early in the season but this group has really progressed and they have give Thomas and the running game some big holes and open lanes. Looking over all these weapons and all this speed you often forget one of the best set of hands on the team is Paulson the TE. He is a nice option in the redone and passing plays down the middle. I expect he will get lost in the shuffle and make some drive sustaining plays. The WR for the ducks are nothing great, they certainly are not Woods from USC but they are fast and capable to get deep. The routes are not always the best but they all have talent. That being said DAnthony Thomas is there biggest threat at wide receiver. Now even though USC has played well they have been suspect in pass coverage and it has been a sore spot over the season. The ducks should be able to take advantage as the fame goes on. So what I like is origins defensive scheme and confusing a line that has had some issues. The speed of Oregon making it hard to pass block and Barkley being under pressure. Woods is great deep as well as the other USC wide outs but if Barkley has no time and can set his feet he may be under throwing which would get the duck secondary is the area to pick it off. Much like the Stanford game. I really like Kaddu in that spot because he is a fast force that can get that pressure. He plays end when the ducks go heavy on the defensive backs. I like the offense of the ducks to play beyond the conditioning of USC. I like the spread attack putting the linebackers in a compromising position. I like the read option against a secondary that has to help in run defense on the edge, this also helps playaction giving wide outs a step past the DB. Everyone likes James and Barner. I think the offensive line for the ducks should have a good day. I worry about the accuracy of Thomas, the ball control of black mamba and the questionable pass defense of the secondary on deep throws. I like the Oregon special teams. I would like if the ducks defense gets Barkley off his spot. I like the ducks tempo. I like Paulson as a playmaker. I like that defenseline is USC strength and the option will have them moving side to side not getting up field. I don't like all that chalk but I love home field advantage. Should be a good game to watch but I think Oregon is the better team and can pull away late and they don't like to let off the gas which means they could get on top and build that number until they are above that fifteen.
Cheers
Irish
