Keys to the Big Games
Week Four, Sept. 24
USC vs. Oregon---college fotball ---
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By John Harris---college fotball ---

a. Ordinary name, extraordinary game – He leads the Trojans in receiving yards, averaging a whopping 28.5 yards per catch. Reggie Bush, right? Nope. He’s tied for the lead in receptions. Ah, Dwayne Jarrett, correct? No. He’s averaging a whopping 157 yards per game. Um, don’t know. How about the Trojans ‘unsung hero’ Steve Smith? Oh yeah, him. Sure, Smith is a huge piece to this USC machine, but teams often forget how valuable he is to Matt Leinart and this offense. But, in preparing for this offense, the first two names that come up are Bush and Jarrett. Double cover Jarrett. Nearly everyone else on Bush. If Smith hurts us, so be it. Well, if that’s the attitude that teams have, Smith is going to break every USC single season record by the fifth week of the year. The junior looks almost effortless running his routes and could get open in a phone booth, but if Oregon is going to let someone beat them, it’s going to be Smith. There isn’t a Duck corner on the roster that can stay with #2 throughout this game, and if he lines up on the same side as Bush, Leinart will have him open all game long. With much of the coverage rolled to Bush, Smith can work the open zones all day long. Take for instance, the circle route with Bush on the same side as Jarrett that we drew up earlier this week. If Smith is the receiver on the other side of the field, when he runs a crossing route, he’ll have all kinds of room to catch and run, as the two foci (Bush and Jarrett) of the Oregon defense run, essentially, decoy routes. You pick your poison with USC, and most don’t pick Smith. Bad move. Bad, bad move.---college fotball ---
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b. Oh my darling, it’s Clemens time – USC has probably not seen a dual threat QB like Kellen Clemens in a long time. Maybe Jason White. Okay, just kidding, but it’s probably been since the beginning of the 2004 season when they tangled with Bryan Randall of Virginia Tech. And, in that game, Randall did have some success on scrambles early and used his tight ends in the passing game. Clemens is a lot like Randall, but throws the ball better than Randall and that could ultimately be what troubles this USC defense. How Clemens can incorporate all areas of the field in the passing game and all of his talented receivers will be a big key to this game. Along similar lines with Jarrett and Bush, USC can’t double Demetrius Williams, Cameron Colvin and tight end Tim Day, so the pressure will be on Clemens to find the best one-on-one matchup. Clemens is growing ultra-comfortable in OC Gary Crowton’s offensive scheme, and he’s been solid going through his reads to find the open man. If USC has a weak spot to exploit, it’s the secondary, a group that lost another member – Terrell Thomas to an injury. But, weak is obviously relative; however, Clemens is a hot QB, and USC has to harness him in to keep the track meet in check.---college fotball ---
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c. Feeling Edgy – The health of Duck DE Devan Long will be a big key for Oregon defense. The talented DE sat out the last two games, recuperating from a knee sprain, but his presence does a couple of things. One, the most obvious aspect of him being in the lineup is the edge pressure that he can put on USC QB Matt Leinart. If Oregon has a chance at all to stop this USC offense, Leinart has to put his track shoes on. In other words, the Ducks have to chase him out of the pocket all night long. No pun intended, but Long has the quickness and explosion off of the corner to get into Leinart’s ‘kitchen’. Sure, he’s not at 100%, but even at less than full strength, Long is tough for offensive tackles to get their hands on. The other, perhaps unforeseen aspect, is that if Long plays, Matt Toeaina can move back inside, alongside Haloti Ngata, to get immense middle pocket pressure. Ngata is such a beast that he can push the pocket back into Leinart very easily, but Toeaina is extremely hard to block because of his quickness. With those two getting push in the middle, Long then locks down the edge, and Leinart has very room to move and step and throw.---college fotball ---
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Conclusion – All week long, the football cognoscenti has talked about the USC offense. Taking it a step further, the talk has been about the Trojans being the best offense in the history of college football. As lofty as that talk has been, how on point those discussions have been will be determined this Saturday in Eugene. The bad news for the Ducks is that they are that good. The Ducks have two chances to win – engage in a track meet. Well, make that one chance – dominate time of possession, 45 minutes or more. On the other hand, maybe no chance is a better answer. USC – 49 vs. Oregon – 24---college fotball ---
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