Oregon vs. USC point spread: Picking Ducks vs. Trojans

The Oregon Ducks are 14.5-point favorites against the ailing USC Trojans this weekend at home — but is that number too high against one of the nation’s best offensive weapons in Caleb Williams?

Max Olson, a senior college football writer for The Athletic, joined On3’s Andy Staples to reveal his pick for Week 11’s Pac-12 showdown between Oregon and USC. He was pretty straightforward with his answer.

“I’m gonna go with Oregon covering just purely based on the extreme disparity and vibes here, Andy,” Olson said.

Staples agreed, also noting that Oregon has “smashed” everyone in their path since losing to Washington earlier in the season. The only question remains — what will the Trojans look like on defense heading into Saturday after firing defensive coordinator Alex Grinch.

“The Grinch ethos remains like you’re still undersized, because — I don’t know if he just thought he was still a Washington State with Hercules Mata’afa, 225 playing defensive tackle. Like, but you can you can recruit players that are the correct size for their positions. It is okay. And they’re not up front. And meanwhile, is really big, upfront, and really athletic upfront.”

Staples and Olson chalk that up to Oregon simply out “portaling” the Trojans this offseason. The Ducks boasted the No. 17 portal class in the nation heading into the season, per On3’s Transfer Portal Team Rankings. USC was ranked outside of the top 70.

Oregon enters Saturday’s Week 11 matchup aving cruised to a 69-13 victory over Cal at home. Meanwhile, the Trojans couldn’t slip past undefeated Washington and fell to the Huskies 52-42 — losing their third game in four weeks in the process.

After losing the game, USC head coach Lincoln Riley said that now, all he is focused on is USC’s Week 11 matchup and beating Oregon. The Ducks will be the toughest test the Trojans will have to face for the rest of the year — which means a win over Oregon would do wonders for USC’s bowl resume, not to mention Caleb Williams‘ lasting legacy in LA.

Now, the two teams come together in what should be a high-scoring affair between two of the best quarterbacks in the country in Williams and Bo Nix — who has been just as impressive as the reigning Heisman Trophy winner this season.

Opening kickoff is scheduled for Saturday night at 10:30 p.m. ET live on FOX. The over/under total is set at 73.5 points. All odds are courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.