Three keys to beating Oregon

October 31, 11:28 AMUSC Trojans ExaminerNeal Leitereg

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The two top teams in the Pac-10, Southern California and Oregon, square off Halloween night in a game that could very well decide who will win the conference.

After their first game loss to Boise State, the Oregon Ducks have been playing some great football and have yet to lose a game against a Pac-10 opponent.

Southern California, after losing a tough game to the Washington Huskies earlier in the year, needs a win at Oregon if the Trojans are going to win the Pac-10 conference and have a shot at the BCS championship.

Beating the Ducks would really help the Trojans BCS hopes since Oregon is ranked 10^th in both the Associated Press Top 25 and the Bowl Championship Series polls.

Let's take a look at what the Trojans have to do this week to get that win at Autzen:

1.  Regain a little linebacker swagger

It has been a tough last couple of games for the Trojans’ linebackers against Notre Dame and Oregon State.

After losing their top four guys at the linebacker position from a year ago, there were question marks about the new linebacker group that includes Chris Galippo, Malcolm Smith and Michael Morgan. However, the three starters have proven to be quite the competitors this season.

Starting linebacker, Chris Galippo, has even earned a spot on Sporting News' midseason All-American list.

Unfortunately, the consistency that this group had shown for much of the early part of the season has diminished in recent games, allowing both the Fighting Irish and the Beavers to move the ball quite well in the second half of both games.

The Trojans need to regain that swagger at the linebacker position for the game against Oregon this Halloween night if they want to come out on top.

The Ducks present a number of match-up problems where the play of the linebackers will be key. LaMichael James has the speed to get by the defensive lineman (and everyone else on the field for that matter), so there will be a great importance placed on the Trojans’ linebackers to make good reads and not blow assignments.

Ducks tight end, Ed Dickson, presents another big problem for the Southern California defense. At 6-foot-5 and almost 250 lbs, Dickson is a big target and an even bigger weapon for quarterback Jeremiah Masoli.

The trio of Galippo, Smith and Morgan might have their work cut out for them Saturday night, but there is no doubting their talent and skill and their ability to rise to the occasion.

2.  Figuring out the real McCoy

Anthony McCoy has emerged the past few weeks as a premier threat at the tight end position, not only for the Trojans but in the entire Pac-10 in general, providing true freshman Matt Barkley with a big target on the field.

The play of McCoy, as of late, makes his ankle injury all the more important for Southern California. While McCoy says he will be ready to go against Oregon, there is a good chance that he will be limited in the game against the Ducks.

If McCoy cannot go, Rhett Ellison and Blake Ayles will have to step up in his place. Ellison and Ayles have both seen time on the field this season and have made plays in limited duty.

Having two big and able tight ends waiting in the wings bodes well for a Trojans offense that really took off with the improved play of Anthony McCoy.

It will be interesting to see how much of a contribution McCoy will be able to make Saturday night, especially after seeing the photos of him getting the ankle taped and iced at the end of the game with the Beavers.

The injury is another blow to a Southern California team that has been beset with injuries this year, but as they have done week in and week out, when one Trojan goes down another seems to rise to the occasion.

3  Make sure Damian Williams does his thing

Trojans wideout, Damian Williams, has provided a steady and dependable target for quarterback Matt Barkley for the entire season. Recently, however, Williams also has been making waves as a return man.

The elusive wideout has returned a punt for a touchdown in two of the last three games, making it look easy on both occasions, adding insult to injury.

With Williams' development as one of the premier punt return specialists in all of college football, it begs the question, what will Williams do next? Or more importantly, what will he do against Oregon?

If Williams can get it going and break some tackles against the Ducks on Halloween night, it would be a huge boon for the Trojans, not only because he scores a touchdown or sets them up with great field position, but because it would silence the raucous crowd at Autzen.

The stadium is going to be jam packed with rowdy, screaming, bloodthirsty fans, who will stop at nothing to get the Trojans out of rhythm with their noise overload.

The one thing that could potentially silence such a deafening display would be a punt return for a touchdown by none other than Damian Williams.

If Williams takes one back, and there is a very good possibility of that exact thing happening, it could go a long way to striking a blow into the hearts of all Ducks fans in attendance.