All eyes will be on Heisman Trophy candidate Dennis Dixon in Eugene, Ore., Saturday as the Trojans attempt to slow down the second best offense in the country. Dixon flaunts the Heisman numbers, the flashy style and the recent comparisons to Vince Young.
But if the Trojans are to have any chance of containing Oregon's potent offense, they must avoid getting blinded by Dixon's Heisman glare and zero-in on running back Jonathan Stewart - the essential element to Oregon's 46.6 points per game.
If USC allows him to fly under the radar, it will surely notice its national championship hopes flying away as well.
The Ducks' success hinges on Stewart's performance. Put simply, when Stewart runs wild, the Ducks fill up the win column.
Consider the comparison of Stewart's rushing average between Oregon wins and losses during the 2006 season. In the Ducks' five wins where Stewart had at least 12 carries, he averaged almost 147 yards per game. In the six losses: only 39 yards.
This season, none of Oregon's opponents have figured out a way to slow him down, and the Ducks are a serious national championship contender with a 6-1 record. Go figure.
The scary thing is, earlier this season Stewart had been splitting carries with Jeremiah Johnson. But after Johnson went down with a season-ending knee injury prior to the Washington game, coach Mike Belotti called on his senior running back to pick up the slack.
Stewart responded with his best game ever: A 251-yard, two-touchdown stampede over the Huskies last week that marked the second-best rushing performance in school history.
Since Stewart will again have an enhanced role this week against USC, don't you think the Trojans want to focus on stopping this guy?
USC's defense needs to set the tone early by shutting down Stewart right out of the gates. It can't allow No. 28 to transfer any kind of momentum from his breakout Washington performance.
And it's not like Stewart has only had that one big day under his belt. He leads the Pac-10 in rushing yards and ranks 19th nationally in that category.
Stewart has also shown remarkable consistency. When compared against running backs with a minimum of 100 carries, his 7.2 yards per carry is the nation's best.
If the Trojans key on limiting Stewart's effectiveness, especially on first and second down, they will put the Ducks into third-and-long situations and make Dixon one-dimensional.
Dixon will be forced into pressure situations where he has to make long throws, instead of third-and-short situations, where he is more of a running threat.
And Dixon has shown that when pressured, he is susceptible to bad decision-making. In Oregon's only loss of the year to Cal, Dixon threw his first two interceptions of the season at critical moments.
A lackluster rushing attack makes life miserable for most quarterbacks, forcing them to throw more often and take more chances. Just ask John David Booty after USC only gained 95 yards on the ground against Stanford.
USC coach Pete Carroll clearly understands the challenge his team is facing in the Oregon running back.
"Stewart is a remarkable football player," Carroll said. "He's the No. 1 draft pick, an NFL prototype running back."
USC's defense needs to remain focused on containing the future-NFL running back just to give it a chance at stopping Dixon. Limiting Stewart will disrupt the entire rhythm of Oregon's offense and possibly force Dixon into some turnovers.
For USC, the road to New Orleans passes through Eugene. And its first priority has to be Jonathan Stewart.
