Oregon’s Cole Irvin/Eric Evans, GoDucks.com

In the opener, Ducks 5, Trojans 2,  Starting Pitcher Jake Reed(2-3) got back on track and earned his second win of the season allowing two runs on five hits in seven innings. Closer Jimmie Sherfy picked up his sixth save of the year. Oregon collected six hits from Brett Thomas, J.J. Altobelli and Scott Heineman in the win.

In Game 2 of the series, Ducks 8, Trojans 4, Oregon  handed the ball to Sophomore Tommy Thorpe who went 5 2/3 giving up eight hits and four earned runs. He struck out two. The Ducks had a rally in them. So far this year the eighth inning seems to be good for   Oregon. For the second series this year (Vanderbilt, Game 3) they came from behind to win. Led by Scott Heineman(3-6, 2 RBI’s, 2 Runs scored), Oregon took the lead on a six run eighth inning.

For the finale in Game 3, Trojans 5, Ducks 3, Oregon turned to Freshman Cole Irvin for the sweep of the Trojans, but the young pitcher gave up six hits and five runs in 4 2/3 innings of work for Oregon. The Ducks did not have a comeback in them and lost 5-3. Shortstop J.J. Altobelli(1-3 Hit, RBI) and Third Baseman Michael Tollman who hit his first career home run provided some offense for the Ducks, but it wasn’t enough.

Oregon heads home to kick off a seven game homestand at PK. They host a big three game series with Arizona this weekend. The Wildcats(15-8, 0-3 Pac 12) are licking their wounds after being swept at home by #3 Oregon State) The opener for the series on Friday(6pm PT) will  be broadcast on thse Pac 12 Networks. Game 2, Saturday at 2pm(PT) and Game 3 is slated for Sunday at Noon(PT). Oregon also has a game with Portland(Tuesday 3/26), before hosting Washington in a three game set starting early on Thursday(03/28).

Oregon Ducks This Week:

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I’m sure there are die hard Duck fans that are looking at ESPN this morning, perhaps at the Pac 12 Standings are noticing something different. Oregon(22-6, 11-4 Pac 12) is tied with UCLA at the top of the conference, and we haven’t played the Civil War yet against Oregon State(13-5, 3-12 Pac 12).  No, this is not a typo.

Feb 27, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Arizona Wildcats forward Solomon Hill (44) reacts during the game against the Southern California Trojans at the Galen Center. USC defeated Arizona 89-78. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The USC Trojans took it to Arizona on Wednesday night, the Wildcats came out flat and may have been caught looking ahead to their weekend matchup with UCLA.  Arizona may have also lost their shot at a high seed in the NCAA Tournament and most likely will fall to the #3 seed or lower of the Pac 12 Tournament. When it comes to the conference resume, Arizona is starting to  get some holes punched in it. UCLA has already beat the Wildcats once this year already back on January 24th.

Tied with UCLA atop the Pac 12 standings Oregon faces Oregon State who comes to Eugene Thursday night for the Civil War at Matthew Knight Arena. It’s Senior Night and several Ducks will be playing their final game in front of the home crowd including  Tony Woods, E.J. Singler, Carlos Emory and Arsalan Kazemi. The ceremony celebrating these players will happen after the game.

Earlier this week Dana Altman announced that Freshman Dominic Artis is closer to a return, he will likely make an appearance against the Beavers. If the Ducks get a victory, they will be a game up on UCLA and a game and half up on Arizona heading into next week.

Oregon closes out the Pac 12 Regular season on the road against Colorado(Thursday, March 7th, 6pm ESPN2) and Utah(Saturday March 9th, Pac 12 Network 11:30am)

Oregon Ducks This Week:

Nov. 26, 2011; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lane Kiffin reacts after the defense stopped the last offensive drive by the UCLA Bruins in the fourth quarter at the Los Angeles Coliseum. Southern California won 50-0. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

Much like the offensive side of the ball, the defense for the Trojans is all about what was kept rather than what was lost. USC will have eight starters returning on defense in 2012. These starters include: Isiah Wiley, Lamar Dawson, Jawanza Starling, Devon Kennard, Wes Horton, Nickell Robey, Hayes Pullard, Dion Bailey, and T.J. McDonald.

The key player among the eight returning starters is T.J. McDonald. McDonald started at the safety position last year for USC. During last season, he recorded 67 total tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss for four yards, three interceptions for 37 return yards, two broken up passes, five pass deflections, one fumble recovery, and one blocked kick. Another reason why McDonald will be a key player this season is because of USC’s pass defense.

According to the 2012 USC Football Media Guide, Lane Kiffin, head coach of the Trojans, said:

“Most importantly, we must improve our pass defense, which has been vulnerable the past two years. We Have a good chance of doing that in 2012 as we return our back seven players.”

 

The main reason why the Trojan pass defense has been vulnerable in the past is because of who they have faced. For example, their only two losses last season came against Pac-12 teams with NFL-ready quarterbacks. These two quarterbacks would be Brock Osweiler and Andrew Luck.

The Trojans met Osweiler first in September at Sun Devil Stadium. The Trojans entered the game with a record of 3-0 while the Sun Devils entered with a record of 2-1. Brock had himself a fairly nice game as he threw for 223 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions. ASU defeated USC by a score of 43-22.

The second NFL-ready quarterback the USC defense played last season was the #1 overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, Andrew Luck. The Trojans met Luck in a Halloween weekend match-up in Los Angeles. The Stanford Cardinals entered the game with a perfect 7-0 record and a #6 ranking as the Trojans were unranked with a record of 6-1. Andrew Luck had a great game (which was equally matched by Matt Barkley). Luck threw for 330 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception which he threw on a Spider 3 Y banana. However, Luck and the Cardinals edged out the Trojans in three overtimes by a score of 56-48.

This season should be easier for the USC pass defense because both Osweiler and Luck are in the NFL now. Luck was drafted first overall to the Indianapolis Colts and Osweiler was drafted by the Denver Broncos.

Other USC players that will need to step up on pass defense include: Nickell Robey, Jawanza Starling, and Isiah Wiley.

The USC Trojans will enter the 2012 season ranked #3 in the pre-season polls (#1 in the ESPN Power Rankings).

For more stories on USC, check out the Reign of Troy.

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