Over the course of the last few years, the Oregon Ducks and the USC Trojans have really played some fantastic games that have featured just a ton of points. These two teams are going to be battling for what could be a spot in the Pac-12 Championship Game on both sides. National Championship dreams could be up in the air as well for both sides. Without a shadow of a doubt, this is going to be the most important game of the year in the Pac-12, and if we are lucky, it might be the first of two meetings of the season between what should be two tremendous juggernauts. This will be Pac-12 football at its finest, and it is the No. 2 game in our countdown of the Top 25 NCAA football matchups in 2012.

Oregon Ducks @ USC Trojans Picks & Info
Oregon Ducks @ USC Trojans Date: Saturday, November 3rd
Oregon Ducks @ USC Trojans Location: Los Angeles Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA
Oregon Ducks @ USC Trojans Spread: USC Trojans -3.5

The Ducks only lost two games all of last season. The first came against the LSU Tigers in Dallas. The second came against the Men of Troy in a fantastic finish in November. The loss took Oregon out of the BCS National Championship picture. Sure, the team made it to the Rose Bowl, but that was a minor consolation for sure. The high octane offense for the U of O is going to be at it again this year with QB Bryan Bennett calling the shots. RB Kenjon Barner will finally get a chance to be a featured back, and we expect that he is going to account for at least 1,500 yards this year. WRs Josh Huff and De’Anthony Thomas should both be All-Pac-12 types of performers. The defense has a few big time stars amongst its eight returning starters. Granted, this isn’t a team that is thought of for its defense, but USC has to know that it could be up for quite the challenge.

Oregon Ducks vs. USC Trojans Past Games (Since 1995)
2011: USC 38 – Oregon 35
2010: Oregon 53 – USC 32
2009: Oregon 47 – USC 20
2008: USC 44 – Oregon 10
2007: Oregon 24 – USC 17
2006: USC 35 – Oregon 10
2005: USC 45 – Oregon 13
2002: USC 44 – Oregon 33
2001: Oregon 24 – USC 22
2000: Oregon 28 – USC 17
1999: Oregon 33 – USC 30
1998: Oregon 17 – USC 13
1997: USC 24 – Oregon 22

The Trojans hadn’t beaten the Ducks in two straight seasons before last year, and that has to be worrisome for a team that is used to be a National Championship contender. This is one of the biggest games of the year for a squad that has to be considered a real threat to get to the title game, but without this win, it is going to be awfully tough to get the job done. The Trojans probably won’t have all that much of a threat to beat them out for their spot in the Pac-12 title game, so at least this won’t be up for concern. Still, QB Matt Barkley might be up for a Heisman Trophy at this point, and losing this game would probably be a huge hit against him. There are a number of other offensive stars that are going to have to come to play, but the defense is going to be up for the biggest challenge. Remember that this unit has allowed 135 points over the course of the last three seasons to the Ducks, and Head Coach Lane Kiffin cannot be thrilled to say the least about that.

Oregon @ USC Free Picks^^: Oregon is going to have a great team this year, and it did go on the road and beat the Stanford Cardinal in its biggest game of last season. That being said, this just isn’t going to be the time for the Ducks to shine. The Trojans are just too good this year, and asking them to lay basically just the value of home field advantage against Oregon isn’t enough. We think that this spread will be a touchdown when this game actually kicks off, and with that being the case, we have to back the Men of Troy right now.

^^Note: These college football picks are independent of the picks of our Expert NCAA Football Handicappers. These NCAA football picks are made as of 8/12/12, though we will keep the college football matchup page updated for this clash on the week of the game.

When the Oregon @ USC odds are on the board on the week of 11/3, we will have our college football picks that you won’t want to miss!