USC rallies to beat Oregon 81-75

USC donned their new home uniforms and got some inspired play from forward Keith Wilkinson and a bounce back performance from freshman phenom O.J. Mayo as they came from behind to defeat the Ducks 81-75 on Thursday night. USC trailed by as many as 15 points and went into the half with a 42-33 deficit, and things looked bad. But that's when Wilkinson and Mayo took over the game.

Wilkinson played 17 minutes in the 2nd half in place of a disappointing Davon Jefferson and was seemingly everywhere Thursday night. He failed to score, but he contributed 11 rebounds (including some big offensive boards) and had several nice hustle plays on defense. Here is the game recap from Rivals and here's an excerpt of Wilkinson's big night.

Thursday's biggest difference: Reserve forward Keith Wilkinson. After Floyd utilized his bench for only eight minutes in the loss to UCLA, Wilkinson played 23 minutes Thursday, including 17 in the second half. He grabbed 11 rebounds, including three dramatic ones on the offensive end.

Mayo, coming off his forgettable 4 point, 10 turnover game against the bRUINS, came up big with a game-high 32 points (21 of which came in the 2nd half). Floyd needs to keep trusting his bench, as he got quality minutes out of Wilkinson and walk-on guard Ryan Wetherell. I'm off to the Oregon State Game, and then heading home to watch a big game between top-ranked Memphis and 2nd-ranked Tennessee.

Fight On! Beat the Beavers!

USC vs Oregon Tonight

PCBestever and I are heading to the game in a few minutes. We'll be back tonight with some post-game thoughts. Here's the preview from the L.A. Times

TONIGHT

vs. Oregon, 8, FSN Prime Ticket

Site -- Galen Center.

Radio -- 710.

Records -- USC 15-9 overall, 6-6 Pac-10; Oregon 15-10, 6-7.

Update -- Though Marcus Simmons said his sprained left ankle continued to progress, Floyd said there was "no improvement" in the freshman guard, meaning he might sit out a seventh consecutive game.

Upset brewing in Arizona, Dixon hurt

Another #2 is in danger of falling down in Tuscon. Not only does Oregon trail 31-14 at the half, but their Heisman contender at QB is out for the game after re-injuring his knee. I am just leaving work to catch the 2nd half. Stay tuned, because if Oregon fails to mount a comeback, the stakes for the USC vs. ASU game will go way up.

Fight On!

Oregon Offense Preview

Probable Starters vs. USC

Pos. No. Player Height Weight Class Hometown
WR 4 Jaison Williams 6-5 240 Jr.-2L* Inglewood, CA
LT 57 Fenuki Tupou 6-6 322 Jr.-TR* Elverta, CA
LG 61 Josh Tschirgi 6-4 310 Sr.-3L* Vancouver, WA
C 60 Max Unger 6-5 300 Jr.-2L* Honaunau, HI
RG 71 Mark Lewis 6-4 308 Jr.-2L* Arroyo Grande, CA
RT 75 Geoff Schwartz 6-7 337 Sr.-3L Los Angeles, CA
TE 83 Ed Dickson 6-5 240 So.-1L* Bellflower, CA
QB 10 Dennis Dixon 6-4 205 Sr.-3L San Leandro, CA
RB 28 Jonathan Stewart 5-11 230 Jr.-2L Lacey, WA
WR 89 Aaron Pflugrad 5-10 172 Fr.-HS Eugene, OR
WR 21 Garren Strong 6-3 203 Sr.-3L* San Jose, CA

Best Offensive Player: QB Dennis Dixon

Quarterback -- This is senior QB Dennis Dixon's team. He makes things go and is the catalyst behind the nation's 2nd ranked offense. The guy is very talented, and although he has shown flashes of brilliance throughout his career, things haven't really clicked until this season. He's had to share time at QB throughout his career, and has not had the luxury of continuity in the offense because the Ducks have gone through offensive coordinators at an alarming rate. Last season, Dixon threw more interceptions (14) than TD's (12) and looked lost as he saw his Ducks lose their final 4 games and finish with a record of 7-6. This year the Ducks are (6-1) and ranked 5th in the nation. Dixon is the team's second-leading rusher with 416 yards and seven touchdowns and he has completed 69% of his passes for 1,728 yards and 16 touchdowns with only three interceptions. It's all come together for Dixon this year, he's running that spread offense very effectively and effortlessly. He's very fast and has good vision when running with the ball, but he also has cannon for an arm, throwing the deep ball very well. This QB looks less like the Dennis Dixon that USC faced last year, but he's not quite at Vince Young's level. He's more like the Bryan Randall that USC faced in the 2004 season opener against Virginia Tech.

Backs and Receivers -- Oregon's playmakers have been on fire this season. They lit up Michigan in the Big House, and every other team they've faced this season with the exception of that choke job in Berkeley. They did however, lose two of their biggest weapons in backup RB Jeremiah Johnson and starting WR Cameron Colvin to injury a couple of weeks ago. Both players were making contributions to the Ducks' offense at the time of injury. This significantly hurts their depth, as USC can place much of its focus on its primary weapons WR Jaison Williams (31 catches, 505 yards, 5 TD's), RB Johnathan Stewart (131 rushes, 940 yards, 7 TD's), and TE Ed Dickson (19 catches, 255 yards, 2 TD's). Oregon does a great job creating mismatches with their formations and play designs, and I'm sure they'll take some shots downfield on USC's secondary, which hasn't been exactly ballhawking this season.

Offensive Line -- The Oregon line deserves much of the credit for an offense that is averaging 46.6 points per game, second behind Hawaii and is second in total offense with 550.9 yards per game, trailing only Texas Tech. The line has surrendered just 12 sacks in 211 pass attempts
and have opened up some big running lanes for Dixon and Stewart in that spread formation. They do a good job of forcing teams to overcommit to one side, allowing the linemen to funnel them and open up the backside for cutbacks or misdirection plays. They haven't faced a front seven as good as USC's since last year's USC game in the Coliseum, but they are certainly running on all cylinders right now.

Check back for the defensive preview, which I will be posted sometime after the BC @ Virginia Tech game tonight.

Fight On! Beat the Ducks!!

Separation Saturday

Next Stop: Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon

USC prevailed in its Gut Check Saturday two weeks ago, bouncing back from that terrible loss to Stanford to defeat the Arizona Wildcats, 20-13. Last week's test was rivalry week against Notre Dame and the Trojans passed by shutting out the Irish 38-0, avoiding a let down against a dismal, 1-win Irish team.

This weekend is Separation Saturday for #9 USC as it travels to Eugene, OR to take on the #5 Oregon Ducks, but also for other teams. This week's slate of games has 4 of the top teams in Pac-10 dueling it out, as well as big games nationally involving top 10 teams. Thursday #2 BC travels to Blacksburg to take on a very good Virginia Tech Hokies team ranked #8. Saturday #1 Ohio State travels to an equally hostile environment in Happy Valley to take on #24 Penn State. Elsewhere in the Pac-10, #7 Arizona State will try to remain undefeated as they host #18 Cal.

Autzen Stadium is a very difficult place to play, probably the toughest venue west of SEC country. USC struggled early the last time it was there, needing another other-worldly performance for Matt, Reggie, LenDale, and Co. to secure a 45-13 win after getting behind 13-0. Last year, the Trojans coasted to an easier than expected 35-10 victory at the Coliseum. USC smothered Ducks QB Dennis Dixon, forced him out of the game, and then smothered his backup, Brady Leaf. There was that interesting exchange between Pete Carroll and Oregon Coach Mike Bellotti, during timeout for a replay challenge though. In case you forgot it went something like this...

Oregon is a fumble away from being undefeated and possibly being ranked #1 in the country. Ducks WR Cameron Colvin, who may be out for the season due to injury, fumbled into Cal's endzone just before he crossed the goaline late in the 4th Quarter. What would have been the game winning TD became a touchback for Cal, and sealed the game for the Bears. Besides that one play, Oregon has looked great all season and pose a big threat to the Trojans. The Trojans are underdogs for the first time in the regular season since its 2003 opener at Auburn (A 23-0 USC win). The loser will suffer its 2nd loss of the season, and will be all but eliminated from the BCS National Championship race and will likely end up playing in my hometown of El Paso for the Sun Bowl.

Check back for Oregon's offensive and defensive previews. I've been swamped by papers and midterms the last couple of weeks, but I'm back on track now. Sorry for the lack of updates during Notre Dame week.

Fight On!