That the USC Trojans are battling the AP No. 1 Oregon Ducks Saturday is a relatively uncommon affair. After all, the Trojans haven't faced a team ranked number one in the Associated Press poll since 1992, and haven't defeated a top-ranked foe since 1984. What isn't new, however, is the fact that both teams are ranked.
USC is ranked 24th in the latest AP poll, the only poll in which they are eligible in this time of NCAA sanctions. Facing the top-ranked Ducks in a year the Trojans are ineligible for a bowl game makes Saturday night, in essence, the bowl game for USC. Will the Trojans be able to fill their bowl with Duck soup? That is the question that will be answered Saturday night on ABC, in the seventh straight season that both teams are ranked in the AP top 25 at the time of their matchup.
Here are the last six meetings between USC and Oregon:
- 2002: No. 15 USC 15, at No. 14 Oregon 14
- 2005: No. 1 USC 45, at No. 24 Oregon 13
- 2006: at No. 7 USC 35, No. 21 Oregon 7
- 2007: at No. 5 Oregon 24, No. 9 USC 17
- 2008: at No. 9 USC 23, No. 23 Oregon 9
- 2009: at No. 10 Oregon 47, No. 4 USC 20
The Trojans lead the all-time series with Oregon 37-17-2, but Oregon has won six of their last 10 meetings. The Ducks' last win at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum came in 2000, when the No. 9 Ducks beat the unranked Trojans 28-17.
The only other time in the series the series that featured AP No. 1 and No. 24 was 2005, when top-ranked USC scored a 45-13 victory on the road. The Trojans better hope for a different result for the top-ranked road team Saturday night at the Coliseum.
For more USC news and information, be sure to read SB Nation blog Conquest Chronicles.