Oregon Ducks Football: Scouting USC’s Special Teams

Even though their offense might receive all the attention, the USC Trojans have some talent in the special teams department. The Trojans might not have had to lean on their special teams like some other teams in the FBS, but still came perform on that side of the ball.

One player from USC’s powerful offense that also makes a name on special teams is Marqise Lee. The sophomore wide receiver has returned fifteen kicks for 426 yards and one touchdown this season. His lone touchdown on special teams was an 100-yard kick return against the Hawaii Warriors.

Sep 1, 2012; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Southern California Trojans receiver Marqise Lee (9) scores on a 100-yard kickoff return in the third quarter against the Hawaii Warriors at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

Overall, the Trojans are ranked fifth in the Pac-12 with 529 kick return yards on the season and ranked second in the Pac-12 with an average of 26.5 yards per kick return. If Oregon is going to score a lot on Saturday, the Trojans will need the return game to give them a fighting chance on offense.

Sophomore kicker Sophomore kicker Andre Heidari has made six out of nine field goals this season. This field goal percentage is ranked sixth in the conference (tied with UCLA). However, kicking field goals is not the Torjans rely on Heidari to do on the field.

What they really expect him to do is kick extra points. Heidari has only missed one extra point as he is 32 out of 33. USC is one of five teams in the Pac-12 to have attempted over 30 extra points. The other teams to have more than 30 attempts are Oregon, Arizona State, Arizona, and UCLA. Heidari’s extra point percentage of 97% is currently ranked sixth in the conference.

Make sure to follow me on Twitter @RickyWidmer.

Follow the Autzen Zoo on Twitter @Autzen_Zoo and like us on Facebook at Autzen_Zoo.

Check out my other writings on the Kansas Jayhawks blog, Through the Phog.