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The last time we saw the University of Oregon, it was on the blue turf of Boise State — and the Ducks were no prettier than the backdrop. A national television audience was treated to a new coach, Chip Kelly, who looked like he was in over his head and a star running back, LaGarrette Blount, who was quite clearly out of his head.
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A lot has changed since that early September night, when the Ducks' embarrassing performance — they totaled just 152 yards in a 19-8 loss — was dwarfed by the postgame performance of Blount, who sucker-punched a mouthy Boise State player and then had to be restrained from going after fans.
The clip was an instant hit on SportsCenter and YouTube. The Pac-10 and Oregon moved swiftly to banish Blount for the rest of the season. That the Ducks would also be kicked to the curb figured as well.
What happened to an offense that had put up videogame numbers — averaging 553 yards and 49.3 points — in its final four games of last season, when the Ducks were 10-3? And what had happened to quarterback Jeremiah Masoli and Blount, and Kelly, the architect of the offense, who had moved up to replace the retiring Mike Bellotti?
"We didn't play up to our standards,'' Kelly said. "We had one game to find our season and we went out to practice the next day.''
Slowly and not-always surely, the Ducks rebuilt their confidence and after some harrowing moments — a last-second win over woeful Purdue and Masoli's 4-for-16 performance against Utah — they sit right where they had hoped to be on Halloween night: with a chance to end USC's seven-year reign as the Pac-10 champion.
When the No. 4 Trojans visit No. 10 Oregon on Saturday night, it will be the day's only meeting between top 10 teams, and one that draws the Game Day crew and a national television audience on ABC or ESPN2. While USC will arrive as a 4.5-point favorite and carrying a bushel full of big-game cred, it was not too hard to infer that several Pac-10 coaches were leaning toward the Ducks, who have won six in a row.
"We'll see who plays harder — I think that will determine a big part of who wins that game,'' said Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh, a not-so-subtle poke at the Trojans' habit of coasting with a big lead.
Cal coach Jeff Tedford, whose team was routed by both teams, likes the way Oregon's defense matches up with USC's offense and said Masoli, operating the Ducks' spread offense, could create problems for USC's suddenly vulnerable defense.
"It's going to be very interesting,'' said Tedford. When was the last time anyone said that going into a USC game?
There are myriad reasons the Ducks have straightened themselves out. Masoli is once again a dual threat in the spread, superlative tight end Ed Dickson is a huge red-zone weapon, special teams have turned in one big play after another, and freshman LaMichael James is averaging 105 yards per game while replacing Blount.
But the biggest — and most unexpected — crutch has been the Oregon defense. The modus operandi of long-time defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti has been to stack the box with as close to eight defenders as he can get, and then come after the quarterback.
It didn't always work out too well last year — even though the Ducks had future NFL defensive backs Patrick Chung and Jairus Byrd. And it didn't look like it would this season, either, especially when the Ducks' best cornerback Walter Thurmond III tore knee ligaments on the opening kickoff against Cal. He is out of the season.
Since then, the Ducks have given up a total of 38 points in four games — a total they allowed three times in a game last season. Aliotti is playing more zone to protect a young secondary, and has changed up his defensive front, which has forced teams to adjust their blocking schemes.
"They have a great understanding of the system,'' Kelly said. "They players know exactly how they fit within that system. They play with passion, there's not one individual star on that side of the ball.''
Much has been made that USC has not won in the state of Oregon since 2005, and the Trojans lost again in the Northwest this season, falling at Washington.
Another Oregon victory would not cement a Rose Bowl berth for the Ducks, who still have games at surprising Stanford and Arizona, and finish the season against dangerous Oregon State. They could have Blount back by then, his dismissal from the team later turning into a suspension that will be revisited beginning Sunday.
But what a win would almost surely do is spell the end of USC's Rose Bowl hopes. The Trojans (6-1, 3-1), with a loss Saturday night, would in essence trail the Ducks (6-1, 4-0) by three games by virtue of a head-to-head loss.
Those are not the types of scenarios that typically worry USC. The Trojans, as they do each week, will take the field with a superior set of athletes. But for all USC's road foibles, deep down the Trojans believe they have beaten themselves in past losses at Oregon State and this season at Washington.
The only team they might concede beat them was Oregon two years ago, when each entered the game ranked in the top 10. If Oregon can do it again, it will be in prime time, with a national audience in tow, and from a place where the delivery of all haymakers is only as a metaphor.
