Games like this resonate and define eras. Oregon hosts USC for a playoff spot on Saturday, 12:30 p.m. PT from Autzen Stadium on CBS, but there's more on the line than a single number up or down in the loss column.
Put bluntly, this is an opportunity for Dan Lanning and the Ducks to send the Trojans back into their hole. At 8-3 they'd be just another mediocre football team. After all the hype about a new attitude and being "back" they'd be on the fringes of the Top 25, headed for a minor bowl and irrelevant again.