Young Ducks catch tall order in Trojan receivers.

Byline: Bob Clark The Register-Guard

O r e g o n v s . U S C

It's two freshmen cornerbacks against two future NFL receivers. It's two Ducks with a combined 15 career starts against two Trojans who have combined for 343 receptions in their careers.

`It's the biggest challenge facing our football team,' Oregon coach Mike Bellotti said.

It definitely looks like a daunting task for Jairus Byrd and Walter Thurmond III as the primary pass defenders against USC's Dwayne Jarrett and Steve Smith in tonight's 7:15 matchup of the Pac-10 teams in the Los Angeles Coliseum.

`They're great receivers,' Byrd said. `The film doesn't lie. They're productive and they make plays when it counts. They're proven.'

An injured hamstring and sore left shoulder has cut into playing time for Jarrett, though he still has 36 receptions for 453 yards and five touchdowns. A year ago, he had 91 receptions and 16 touchdowns, nearly half of the 34 total that has put him atop the Pac-10 career list for scoring catches.

Smith, hobbled much of this season by a sprained left ankle, nonetheless has 42 receptions for 698 yards and seven touchdowns.

The worse news for Oregon is both now seem as healthy as they've been all season.

`Definitely the best I've felt in weeks,' Smith told reporters earlier this week.

`The best I've felt all season,' chimed in Jarrett.

Uh, oh. Oregon's league-leading pass defense hasn't seen anything like USC's dynamic duo this season, and the Ducks understand it's more a matter of limiting the damage they might do.

`If something happens, that's that play,' Byrd said. `You've got to keep going. It's a long game and you can bounce right back and have a game-changing play, so you've got to erase whatever happens and go on to the next play.'

Beyond some obvious physical abilities, one of the most obvious traits of Oregon's two rookie cornerbacks is the way they've played on through some setbacks.

Neither was even expected to start when drills began in August, but injuries changed that. Thurmond was in the lineup from the opener, and he's missed only one game, against Portland State, due to an injury himself, while Byrd has moved from backup rover to the corner to start at corner in the third game.

`I like our corners,' Bellotti said. `For redshirt freshmen, they're playing well beyond their years.'

Which doesn't, in the least, lessen what confronts them tonight in Los Angeles when the 21st-ranked Ducks (7-2 overall, 4-2 in the Pac-10) take on the seventh-ranked Trojans (7-1, 5-1) in FSN's nationally televised game.

Smith and Jarrett, Bellotti said, `and several others behind them are as good as we'll face individually' this season. Put them together, and the entire Oregon defense needs to take on added duties, the coach said, whether its linemen rushing USC quarterback John David Booty, linebackers blocking passing lanes or safeties helping out on the USC wide receivers.

`Given time, those guys are going to get open,' Bellotti said.

Compounding it all is the fact that Jarrett is 6-feet-5, the same height as reserve Patrick Turner, who had 12 of his 25 receptions in one game while filling in for Jarrett.

`They have some just throw-up plays,' Bellotti said. The big USC receivers, as he described them, `motor down the field and say `throw me the ball and I'll catch it,' and they do.'

It's a jump ball, and those 6-5 receivers are against cornerbacks who are 5-11 (Byrd) and 6-0 (Thurmond).

`You've got to be aware of it, but if we play our technique right, we'll be fine,' Byrd said. `One little thing that goes wrong, though, and it's a touchdown.'

Against a pair of Oregon senior cornerbacks last season, Jarrett and Smith combined for 14 receptions, 187 yards and two touchdowns in USC's 45-13 win at Autzen Stadium.

`They're a step up,' Byrd said.

It's also what the UO freshmen cornerbacks will have to do tonight.

Matchup: Oregon at USC

When and where: 7:15 p.m. at Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles

TV: Live on FSN; replay at 11:30 tonight on KEZI

Radio: KUGN-AM (590)

Line: USC by 8

PAC-10 STANDINGS Conference Overall W L W L PF PA California ... 6 0 8 1 327 177 USC ... 5 1 7 1 253 123 Oregon ... 4 2 7 2 327 205 Oregon St. ... 4 2 6 3 248 181 Washington St. ... 4 3 6 4 249 195 UCLA ... 2 3 4 4 210 187 Arizona ... 2 4 4 5 124 177 Arizona St. ... 2 4 5 4 237 233 Washington ... 2 5 4 6 224 259 Stanford ... 0 6 0 9 83 318 TODAY'S GAMES Oregon at USC Oregon State at UCLA California at Arizona Washington State at Arizona State Stanford at Washington