NCAAF
School Soccer
Week 13
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Lincoln Riley’s No. 15 USC Trojans look to maintain their School Soccer Playoff hopes alive as they tackle Dan Lanning’s No. 7 Oregon Geese at Autzen Stadium.
Comply with stay for the newest updates and perception from The Athletic’s faculty soccer workers.
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Makai Lemon was an uber-athletic four-star recruit popping out of close by Los Alamitos (Calif.) Excessive Faculty, initially dedicated to Oklahoma earlier than following coach Lincoln Riley and highschool quarterback Malachi Nelson to the Trojans. In truth, Lemon was considerably overshadowed in his personal recruiting class by Nelson, who some shops ranked because the No. 1 total prospect within the Class of 2023, even forward of Arch Manning.
Quick ahead almost three years, and Nelson is now a backup at UTEP, his third workforce in three years after transferring out of USC following the 2023 season. Lemon, in the meantime, is extensively thought of among the finest large receivers in all of faculty soccer. He leads the Energy 4 with 1,090 receiving yards together with eight landing receptions, exhibiting a knack for crisp route-running and displaying unbelievable vary to catch passes in one-on-one matchups.
And Lemon is coming off maybe his greatest efficiency of the season, the place he recorded 10 catches, 153 receiving yards and a landing within the pouring rain towards a stout Iowa protection final week.
Whereas immediately’s recreation could have main on-field implications within the Large Ten, there may be additionally loads of off-field drama brewing as USC and Michigan have successfully blocked (for now) a private equity deal with UC Investments that might have influxed $2.4 billion into the convention. The deal, championed by Large Ten commissioner Tony Petitti, is now paused indefinitely.
The off-field drama is a symptom of a larger issue in the Big Ten, our Stewart Mandel writes — the convention is simply too huge for its personal good.
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John E.: Hate this recreation … my two favourite groups. Geese 44-36. Each groups can go, Lemon is unstoppable, and “it by no means rains in Autzen” not less than not this Saturday.
The Geese’ protection has been robust all through this season, and that is sensible contemplating head coach Dan Lanning’s defensive background. In Oregon’s 9-1 begin, solely two opponents have scored not less than 20 factors (Penn State with 24 and Indiana with 30).
In seven of the Geese’ different eight video games, they’ve held their opponents to 14 factors or fewer, and the opposite one (Iowa) reached 16.
That’s spectacular stuff.
Dan Lanning is 44-7 in his fourth season as Oregon’s head coach, and the Geese gained double-digit video games in his first three seasons (10, 12 and 13). Oregon appears to be like like it’s headed towards one other double-digit-win season this 12 months with a 9-1 file with two video games left (USC immediately, Washington subsequent Saturday).
Lincoln Riley is 34-16 in his fourth season as the top coach at USC after going 55-10 in 5 seasons at Oklahoma.
He has 5 double-digit-win seasons as a head coach, however solely a kind of got here at USC, and that was in his first season. After ending 7-6 final 12 months, nevertheless, the Trojans have responded with an 8-2 season this 12 months.
The Trojans are 8-2 total and 6-1 within the Large Ten, they usually have been flying underneath the radar a bit since shedding at Notre Dame in October. The Trojans’ different loss was at Illinois, and their two losses have come by 12 complete factors.
So USC isn’t out of the Large Ten race and even the School Soccer Playoff race. If the Trojans win immediately and beat UCLA subsequent week, they may have case for being within the Playoff for the primary time.
The Geese are 9-1 total and 6-1 within the Large Ten, with their lone loss coming to Indiana in early October. However that loss did happen at Autzen Stadium.
Oregon has responded properly since then, successful its previous 4 video games by a median of 23 factors. That stretch features a two-point, hard-fought win on the highway towards a ranked Iowa squad.
If Oregon can win immediately and beat Washington subsequent week, it’s in terrific form for a School Soccer Playoff spot.
Right this moment is the final full Saturday of the 2025 faculty soccer season. There are two weeks left within the common season, however the closing week is Thanksgiving weekend, when many of the schedule is cut up between Friday and Saturday.
Sadly, the Week 13 slate options a whole lot of lopsided matchups. No. 1 Ohio State, No. 4 Georgia and No. 9 Notre Dame are all favored by greater than 30 factors whereas No. 3 Texas A&M and No. 10 Alabama are taking over FCS groups.
There are a couple of key matchups, although, starting with No. 15 USC going to No. 7 Oregon for a recreation that would determine a School Soccer Playoff spot. The Geese are favored by 9.5 factors on BetMGM, exhibiting confidence stays in Oregon regardless of USC having three stable wins in a row: at Nebraska, towards Northwestern (by 21) and vs. Iowa. At 9-1, Oregon can be ok with making the CFP with a win, whereas USC has two losses and is hoping to construct its resume round a win in Eugene.
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Autzen Stadium landed at No. 10 on The Athletic’s latest college football stadium rankings, which we launched final month. Right here’s what our Cameron Teague Robinson needed to say in regards to the venue:
📝 “I walked round Autzen Stadium twice after I went to go to final October — positive, I couldn’t discover the media entrance, but additionally as a result of I used to be so enthralled by the surroundings. The tailgating scene exterior is particular, and then you definitely get inside and all the pieces takes your breath away. From the scholars sprinting into the stadium the second the 90-minutes-until-kickoff mark hits to the sight of your entire bowl-shaped stadium filling as much as the surroundings of the timber and mountains behind it.
“There are a whole lot of scenic stadiums, however a fall night at Autzen Stadium is without doubt one of the most stunning sights in faculty soccer. And that's to not point out how loud it’s through the recreation, punching nicely above its 54,000-seat weight. The open-air press field made it so I might barely hear my coworker subsequent to me speak.”
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It appears to be like like Ohio State and Indiana have achieved sufficient to earn spots within the School Soccer Playoff. However will there be a 3rd Large Ten workforce within the 12-team discipline? In that case, who will that be?
Right this moment's recreation in Eugene, Ore., might go a protracted option to answering each of these questions. Each groups have yet one more recreation after immediately (Oregon vs. Washington and USC vs. UCLA), so, sure, there may be extra work to do.
However whichever workforce wins this Large Ten showdown might take an enormous step towards the Playoff.
One week after Iowa was surprised at residence by Oregon, the Hawkeyes traveled to Los Angeles and acquired a present from the weather, as a rainstorm belted Southern California and threatened to restrict USC’s high-flying offense.
And it checked out first as if the mixture of the climate and Iowa’s physicality would show an excessive amount of for the Trojans to beat. USC fell behind 21-7 within the first half, the kind of lead that often proves insurmountable towards the Hawkeyes' protection. As a substitute, nevertheless, USC completed the sport on a 19-0 run for a massive 26-21 victory. The Trojans’ much-maligned protection held agency, giving time for quarterback Jayden Maiava (23-for-32, 254 passing yards, one landing) and famous person large receivers Makai Lemon (10 catches, 153 receiving yards, one landing) and Ja’Kobi Lane (seven catches, 65 yards) to energy the comeback.
“Tradition win proper there, man, if there ever was one,” coach Lincoln Riley stated after the sport.
USC improved to 8-2 with the win to stay within the School Soccer Playoff race — for now.
Sandwiched between an exhilarating last-minute win at Iowa two weeks in the past and immediately’s pivotal matchup towards USC was a quintessential entice recreation for Oregon — a sleepy Friday evening contest towards an unheralded Minnesota workforce that entered having already clinched bowl eligibility at 6-3.
Many applications would have fallen into that entice, however not the Geese, who jumped out to a 14-0 first-quarter lead and by no means appeared again in a 42-13 drubbing. Oregon quarterback Dante Moore was correct all evening lengthy, going 27-for-30 passing with 306 yards and two touchdowns by means of the air. Oregon improved to 9-1 with the win and might safe Lanning’s third straight season of not less than 10 wins with a victory tonight.
We wish to hear your ideas on something associated to tonight’s recreation! Electronic mail us at stay@theathletic.com, and we’ll function our favourite submissions in our stay protection of the Geese and Trojans.
Tell us your ideas on this enormous Large Ten showdown.
The Trojans final performed the Geese two years in the past, within the closing 12 months of the Pac-12. That recreation additionally befell in Eugene, and it’s the solely earlier assembly between present head coaches Lincoln Riley of USC and Dan Lanning of Oregon.
Lanning and the Geese prevailed 36-27 because of 412 passing yards and 4 landing throws from Bo Nix, who outplayed reigning Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams (291 passing yards, one landing go) within the victory.
Not like the case with most of their new opponents within the expanded Large Ten, these two have loads of familiarity with one another because of their historical past as rivals within the outdated Pac-12.
USC leads the all-time sequence towards Oregon 38-23-2, relationship again to a 34-0 Geese win in 1915. Oregon has gained seven of the previous 9 matchups between the 2 applications, relationship again to Chip Kelly’s promotion to Geese head coach earlier than the 2009 season.
USC’s final victory over Oregon got here in 2016 as Sam Darnold led the Trojans to a 45-20 win over the Geese, who have been beginning a freshman quarterback named Justin Herbert, in Los Angeles. The Trojans final gained in Eugene in 2011, a 38-35 thriller wherein Oregon missed a last-second discipline objective that might have pressured extra time.
The faculty soccer season continues immediately, highlighted by tonight’s Oregon-USC showdown. However there may be loads extra to learn at The Athletic.
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Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore., some of the scenic (and, for its dimension, loudest) faculty soccer stadiums within the nation, will host tonight's recreation.
The venue, which is simply north of Oregon’s campus, opened in 1967. It has hosted Oregon Geese soccer video games ever since. Autzen at the moment has 54,000 seats, and each certainly one of them is predicted to be stuffed immediately.
USC at Oregon will probably be proven on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.
You too can stream the sport on Fubo (Stream Free Now).
CBS’ No. 1 faculty soccer broadcast crew, consisting of Brad Nessler (play-by-play), Gary Danielson (analyst) and Jenny Dell (sideline reporter), will probably be on the decision.
