ESPN's College GameDay Reveals Pivotal Big Ten Matchup As Week 13 Location

ESPN's College GameDay will travel to Eugene for the No. 17 USC Trojans' high-stakes matchup against the No. 8 Oregon Ducks. What is at stake for both teams entering Saturday's matchup between the Ducks and Trojans?

Nov 7, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley watches game action against the Northwestern Wildcats during the second half at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

The No. 17 USC Trojans improved to 8-2 on the season with a 26-21 win over the No. 21 Iowa Hawkeyes in week 12. With the win, the Trojans kept alive their hopes of making the College Football Playoff heading into their final road matchup of the season against the No. 8 Oregon Ducks.

ESPN's College GameDay Announces Show In Eugene

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning sits for an interview during ESPN’s “College GameDay” on the campus of the University of Oregon on Oct. 11, 2025, in Eugene, Oregon. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

With high stakes for both teams, ESPN's College GameDay announced it'll travel to Eugene for the pivotal Big Ten matchup on Saturday. It'll be the second time this season that College GameDay will travel to Eugene. The show was at Oregon's week 7 home matchup against the No. 2 Indiana Hooisers, where the Ducks fell 30-20. Oregon fans are hoping that this time around the visit results in a win.

College GameDay has appeared at two USC vs. Oregon matchups in the past, most recently in 2010, when the then No. 2 Ducks defeated the Trojans 53-32 at the Coliseum. The last time the show appeared in Eugene for a USC vs. Oregon game was on Halloween in 2009. The Ducks upset the top-five-ranked Trojans 47-20, en route to playing in the Rose Bowl.

Saturday's matchup between Oregon and USC will be the first since they both moved from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten last season. Their latest meeting came in 2023, when the Bo Nix-led Ducks beat Caleb Williams and the Trojans 36-27 in Eugene. Oregon has won three straight games against USC dating back to 2019, despite the Trojans leading the series 38-23-2.

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What's On the Line For Oregon vs. USC

Nov 15, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans cornerback Alex Graham (27) safety Christian Pierce (24) cornerback Decarlos Nicholson (17) and safety Kennedy Urlacher (28) celebrate after Iowa Hawkeyes turn the ball over on fourth down during the second half at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Similar to USC, the Ducks' playoff aspirations will be on the line against the Trojans. The Ducks could still get in with a loss, but losing to USC would make it much harder for Oregon to earn a spot if USC wins out. The Trojans, unless chaos happens, would likely be eliminated from playoff contention with a loss to Oregon.

With two of the best and most explosive offenses in the Big Ten going head-to-head, Saturday's matchup between the Ducks and Trojans has the potential to be a high scoring game. With the possibility of a shootout in Eugene, the biggest key in Saturday's pivotal Big Ten matchup will be which team rises to the occasion on defense.

The Ducks have the edge defensively over the Trojans. USC, however, has shown great strides on defense this season under defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn. After trailing 21-10 to Iowa at halftime, USC's defense allowed no points in the second half to rally to a 26-21 win.

The Trojans' ability to be consistent on defense will be one of the biggest keys to USC pulling off the upset. As it was on display against the Hawkeyes and in the Trojans' two losses this season, the Trojans have struggled to defend the run.

Nov 15, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans quarterback Jayden Maiava (14) throws against the Iowa Hawkeyes during the first half at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Oregon's dominant running back group, featuring leading rusher Noah Whittington, Jordon Davison, and Dierre Hill Jr., could find success against USC's defense. The quarterback duel between USC's Jayden Maiava and Oregon's Dante Moore will also be one of the deciding factors in Saturday's game.

USC's matchup against Oregon is scheduled to kick off from Autzen Stadium at 12:30 p.m. PT on CBS. Oregon enters its final home game of the season with a 9-1 record following a dominating 42-13 win over the Minnesota Golden Gophers.