USC vs. Oregon: Pac-12 Championship Game Predictions

No. 13 USC is hosting the Pac-12 Championship Game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum against Oregon on Friday, December 18th at 5:00 pm PST.

It's been a wild ride for the USC Trojans, but on Friday night they will find themselves competing for the Pac-12 Championship title for the third time since the inaugural game in 2011.

The Trojans are 1-1 in Pac-12 Championship games. In 2015, No. 7 Stanford beat No. 24 USC, 41-22, but in 2017 No. 11 USC defeated No. 14 Stanford, 31-28.

If USC wins Friday night's game, they will be 6-0 on the season for the 20th time in history. 

But of course, this would not be the "2020 Pac-12 Championship Game" without a few obstacles. 

When the matchup was originally announced last Saturday, USC (5-0) was set to play the University of Washington (3-1) as they were the champs of the Pac-12 North. But on Monday it was announced that the Huskies would not have enough players to start on Friday due to COVID-19 cases, and the Oregon Ducks (3-2) stepped up in their place.

The last time USC went head to head with Oregon, the Ducks came out on top with a final score of 56-24. 

Here is what we believe the Trojans must accomplish to win the Pac-12 Title:

USC will win if...

They continue their momentum from last Saturday's matchup against the UCLA Bruins. The Trojans have secured a last minute win in three of their five games this season. 

Slovis had a nice game against UCLA, throwing for 344 yards with a 63.8% completion rate. However, both teams are showing solid numbers at their highest points this season.

If the Trojans can jump on Oregon early and prioritize their run game despite RB Vavae Malepeai likely being on the IR, they should come out on top.

USC will lose if...

Oregon's pass-rush gets the best of the Trojans. Oregon has a similar pass rush style to UCLA, which is something that Clay Helton and his staff will be on the look out for come Friday.

Markese Stepp (RB) will most likely take Malepeai's place as go-to for Slovis' running plays, but if he does not connect with Slovis from the start, the Oregon defense will recognize the lack of strength early on and pressure could get the best of USC's QB.

The nail-biting fourth quarter victories for USC have been far too common this season and the Pac-12 Championship game is not where the Trojans want to see this theme finally come to a close. 

[READ: Vavae Malepeai Doubtful for Pac-12 Championship]

SI AllTrojans predicts: USC 37 | Oregon 28

The USC Trojans have proven time and time again that the game is not over until the end. If they can adhere to that mentality for one more game, they just might become the 2020 Pac-12 Champs.

[READ: Oregon At First Glance: Offensive Players USC Fans Need To Know]

The game will be aired on FOX at 5:00 pm PST on Friday, December 18th.

Fanduel has the spread set at USC -3.5. The over/under is set at 63.5.

For more USC news visit www.alltrojans.com. Follow us on Twitter.

 


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Kim Becker
KIM BECKER