Why USC may have a better shot against Washington than Oregon

USC is set to enter a critical part of its season over the next two weeks with matchups against Washington and Oregon. These feel like games that could decide whether the Trojans make the Pac-12 title game as they already have one loss in Pac-12 play.

The Huskies are first up as USC gets the advantage of hosting them at home on Saturday. Erik McKinney of WeAreSC joined On3‘s Andy Staples on Sunday to break the matchup down, explaining why he the Trojans have a better shot at winning against Washington than Oregon.

“USC seems to match up better against Washington, especially because it’s home, than they do with Oregon,” he said. “Washington doesn’t particularly get after the quarterback that well and it’s less of a power running game. What Oregon does feels like it may not line up well with what USC can do defensively. But Washington, there’s a bit of a blue print out I guess. They’ve had some close games recently. Stanford was right in it ’til the end and that’s a Stanford team that USC blew out earlier this year.

“USC may have a better shot against Washington than against Oregon, but they’re gonna need some turnovers. They’re gonna need the one or two defensive stops that they get and they’re gonna need to score a bunch because Washington can kind of trip and fall for 42 points in this one.”

The Trojans have struggled in recent weeks, dropping games against Notre Dame and Utah. They nearly gave up another on Saturday before stopping a potential game-winning two-point conversion against Cal to escape with a 50-49 win.

Washington and USC both rank among the top 10 teams in the country in passing offense and scoring offense. They are also both among the bottom half of the Pac-12 in total defense. That could lead to an offensive shootout in which it will be critical for the Trojans to come up with stops in order to win.

Michael Penix Jr. leads the country with 2,945 yards passing to go with 24 touchdowns and six interceptions, so that will be easier said than done. However, with reigning Heisman winner Caleb Williams on the other side, the Trojans have what it takes to keep up.

McKinney also believes the defense is better suited to handle the Huskies offense over Oregon.

“Oregon can get a little bit gadgety and a little bit trickier,” he said. “USC’s defense, in terms of maintaining with their discipline or their eyes and rush lanes and all that can get wild at times. I know Washington can do some of that, too. They’re a little bit more exotic with this staff than the previous one.

“Again, maybe it’s at home and we may find out about 20 minutes into this one that it is not an evenly matched game. But that’s what it feels like going into this one.”

Ultimately, with the way Pac-12 games have gone this season, this figures to be an exciting game regardless of the result. Kickoff between Washington and USC is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday in Los Angeles.