Lincoln Riley and USC need to crack the code and find the weak point in Oregon’s secondary. That’s because the Ducks have some unanswered questions in that part of their defense, as Ducks Wire notes.
“I think you always think about who are your best players, how do you highlight their strengths, how do you highlight their deficiencies?’ (new defensive coordinator Chris) Hampton said. “And you look around the country to see what other people are doing with guys similar to your skill sets, similar to your talents. What’s the new trend in college football, in the NFL? So each and every year, you’re looking to grow, and we’re looking to expand our defense.’
“The Ducks could return to their three-safety look again, using Perich as the “umbrella” across the defense and relying on Aaron Flowers and another young safety to bracket the outside. Trey McNutt, Peyton Woodyard, Jett Washington and Xavier Lherisse are all battling for a spot. The manner in which the battle for the nickel spot shakes out will have a big impact on how aggressive Hampton plays the secondary in 2026.”
If USC’s offensive line can handle Oregon’s defensive line, the Trojans should be able to make incisions in the Oregon secondary and begin to pull apart the Ducks’ defense. This is the kind of game in which USC simply can’t waste possessions. It would be like losing serve at Wimbledon. The server — the offense — will have the advantage in Oregon-USC. The offense which is more ruthlessly consistent is likely to win. USC has to exploit every deficient aspect of an Oregon defense which has not yet resolved some important positional battles.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Oregon defense has unresolved position battle, giving USC an opening
Reporting by Matt Zemek, Trojans Wire / Trojans Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Matt Zemek, Trojans Wire | USA TODAY Network
