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Oregon and USC both set to be without multiple starters for top 25 tilt
By Ethan Stone
Published:
One of the best and most consequential matchups of Week 14 will be USC at Oregon, which plays host to College GameDay and could decide a spot in the College Football Playoff when it’s all said and done.
According to CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz, the Ducks and Trojans will each be without a few starters for Saturday’s top 25 tilt. Th players set to miss Saturday’s game are as follows:
- Oregon Ducks: WR Dakorien Moore (knee) and WR Gary Bryant Jr (ankle)
- USC Trojans: S Bishop Fitzgerald
It gets worse for the Trojans, too. According to Zenitz, USC could also be without safety Kamari Ramsey and left tackle Elijah Paige. Ramsey reportedly looks “unlikely to play” while “there are also doubts” surrounding Paige.
While this is poor news for both teams, it appears worse for USC. Fitzgerald, as you can see above, is currently playing like one of the best safeties in college football with 5 interceptions on the season. Ramsey has been great as well, having totaled 18 solo tackles and 2 pass deflections. Missing both safeties spells trouble against an offense as strong as Oregon’s.
This game is a must-win for both programs with the current state of the race for the College Football Playoff in mind. The Trojans have lost twice on the season and could use the resume boost, while Oregon is 9-1 against a relatively tame schedule. A win over USC on Saturday would go down as Oregon’s best of the regular season.
Kickoff for Trojans at Ducks is set for 3:30 p.m. ET/12:30 local on CBS.
Ethan Stone was an editor for his student newspaper at the University of Tennessee and is now a News Manager for Saturday Tradition.