The main difference between Oregon's and USC's offenses entering 2026

There is one central difference between Oregon's offense and USC's offense going into the 2026 college football season. Oregon needs to maintain its standard. USC has to elevate its standard. Ducks Wire looked at the Oregon side of this discussion, with a focus on new offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer.

"In 2025, the Ducks' offense was excellent, ranking 13th in points per game and 12th in yards per game. Moore was among the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy going into the final month of the season, and was widely projected to be a top-10 pick had he declared for the 2026 NFL Draft. It's safe to say that in order for Mehringer to have a successful first season as OC at Oregon, he doesn't need to do too much to upset the apple cart.

“'We've tweaked a few things and given Dante some things that I think help him see things,' Mehringer said. 'I think we'll probably do that every year, because every iteration of the offense will be a little bit different, just because of personnel changes.'

"The concept in general may seem simple — obviously, 'keeping things status quo' is about as baseline as you can get — but the idea of a core offense with tweaks available is less prevalent in college football than you may think. Many times over, we've seen offensive coordinators come into new teams and go through a makeover that alters what a team does. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't."

Oregon was able to score over 40 points against USC last season. The Trojans weren't able to reach 30 and have struggled to reach 30 in recent games against Oregon. USC needs to get to the point where it is hanging 40 on Oregon and other top teams. The Ducks don't have to raise the bar higher; they just need to keep it where it is, for the most part.

This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: The main difference between Oregon's and USC's offenses entering 2026