If USC does beat Oregon, one reason is likely to rise above others

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Oregon week is here for USC football. The Trojans are about to play the most important and likely the most defining game of their 2026 season. Victory will feel transformative. Defeat will be devastating. There's no in between. If USC does win this game, the main reason is likely to be this: Gary Patterson will outmaneuver Oregon offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer. We noted last week that Mehringer might be in over his head.

"Oregon Tipping a Run or Pass – This isn’t sign stealing; this is good old fashioned film study and insight. Oklahoma State saw something on film and the result was Cowboy players knowing whether a run or pass was coming.

"'We were noticing earlier in the week that their (Oregon’s) offensive line had tendencies that helped us key into run (or) pass and a couple areas we could take advantage of,' said senior linebacker Tate Romney, 'and obviously our defensive line was keyed into that. That was one big thing that gave us a big advantage.' What were those tendencies? 'Just their offensive line had a few stance indicators for most of the time run/pass,' said Romney."

Gary Patterson's track record dwarfs anything and everything Drew Mehringer has ever done in football. This is the coordinator (and coaching) matchup USC should win clearly and cleanly. If the Trojans own the chess match on defense, Oregon's defense will need to humiliate Lincoln Riley, one of the better play-callers in college football over the past decade. That's not likely to happen. Patterson versus Mehringer could be the main reason for USC fans to be optimistic about the Oregon game.

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This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: If USC does beat Oregon, one reason is likely to rise above others

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