Back at the start of the season, Oregon's game at USC was circled on lots of calendars.

It appeared at the time to be the marquee matchup of the Pac-12 season, as well as a possible preview of the league championship game, with the Trojans entering the season ranked No. 1 in the preseason poll and Oregon ranked fifth.

Adding to the anticipation was USC's 38-35 upset victory over the Ducks at Autzen Stadium last season.

Eight weeks later, the shine is off the game a bit. USC has lost two games, including a 39-36 loss at Arizona last weekend, and fallen to No. 18 in the AP rankings.

Undefeated Oregon has climbed to No. 2 and has taken aim at a second national championship berth in three seasons.