There’s no denying the numbers. USC’s defense in one of the best in the land. They rank in the top-5 nationally in rushing defense and total defense and the top-10 in both pass efficiency defense and scoring defense. Their pass defense ranks 21st.
But after looking closer, you’ll notice that USC’s schedule has not been full of offensive powers. As you can see on the in the UO-USC GameDay in a Box, USC’s schedule ranks 107th in the nation. Their past opponents have a 14-32 record. It’s easy to shut down JV teams.
The graph below breaks it down. Just look at Notre Dame…no wonder the Irish went scoreless, they rank near the bottom of the NCAA in every offensive category.
Tags: offense, pac-10, schedule rank, USC
lance Says:
October 24th, 2007 at 7:42 pm
i agree with the basic premise of this article, but the fact still remains that USC’s defense shut down Oregon’s spread offense last year. Lets just hope Oregon is that much better and USC is that much worse this year. Also, lets hope Chip Kelly has a gameplan Duck players can execute that constantly keeps USC’s defense confused and on their toes, something akin to verses Michigan.
DKELLY Says:
October 24th, 2007 at 9:39 pm
this is going to be Williams’s game to win or lose. if he can’t get open and /or gets a case of the drops it’s over. He has to give Dixon some relief. Maleuga and Cushing will christen him, Pflugrad and Dickson early, as well as put the wood to Dixon. These guys will have to man up to keep the Ducks in it. SC will stuff Chauncey into the
d-line again and again, then give it to McKnight. A throw or two maybe, but they’ll run right at the Ducks. This will be like Sugar Ray vs.Hands of Stone Duran…go ducks.
eritchie Says:
October 24th, 2007 at 10:11 pm
I keep hearing about how USC has stopped our spread before, I’d like to point out this isn’t the same offense.
Not only have we brought in a new OC in Chip Kelly, we run totally new formations, motions, use no huddle almost exclusively, and have a new set up on how the QB reads the option. This is not the same offense USC has stopped before.