Top-ranked Trojans visit Autzen for the first time since 2002

This Saturday, Southern California and Oregon clash again under very different circumstances. The Trojans (2-0), atop the AP poll for the 22nd straight week, visit Autzen Stadium to face No. 24 Oregon (3-0), which just broke into the national rankings.

“It isn’t like we are unfamiliar totally,” USC coach Pete Carroll said. “But we haven’t been on the same field as them. It would help us both if we knew how the matchups occurred and how we fit, but it goes back to being equal so it is not a big factor.”

In 2002, the roles were reversed. The Ducks had the higher ranking at No. 14, a spot in front of the 15th-ranked Trojans.

USC won it 44-33 led by Carson Palmer, who threw for a career-best 448 yards, and a school record-tying five touchdowns. Freshman receiver Mike Williams caught 13 passes for 226 yards and two scores.

Harrington’s successor, Jason Fife, passed for 336 yards and two TDs, while Jared Siegel kicked four field goals for Oregon.

The Trojans were 5-2 going into that game. Since they are 31-1, and they’ve won their last 24.

The Ducks? They’re 17-15 since then.

Perhaps Oregon’s biggest win at Autzen since then came in 2003, when the Ducks defeated No. 3 Michigan 31-27. Oregon has not hosted a No. 1-ranked team since 1992, when the team lost 24-3 loss to Washington.

“The fact that we haven’t played for a couple of years doesn’t factor into it,” Oregon coach Mike Bellotti said. “We have seen them play common opponents, I think we have a sense of that. We have to come up with a plan that contains their offense, attacks their defense and wins the battle of special teams.”

USC is one of three top four teams playing ranked opponents this week.

No. 3 LSU plays its long-awaited home opener against No. 10 Tennessee on Monday night, after Hurricane Rita pushed the game back two days.

No. 4 Virginia Tech faces No. 15 Georgia Tech, with the Yellow Jackets hoping to have quarterback Reggie Ball back in the lineup. He missed last week’s game with a case of viral meningitis, but took most of the snaps with the first team in practice Thursday, and seemed a good bet to play Saturday.

On Friday night, No. 13 California is at New Mexico State and No. 22 Iowa State plays Army at West Point, N.Y.

The Southeastern Conference’s two other top-10 teams are on the road against conference cellar-dwellers on Saturday: No. 5 Florida is at Kentucky and No. 7 Georgia play at Mississippi State.

One of the Big Ten’s preseason favorites will be knocked out of the national title race when No. 21 Iowa plays at Ohio State. The Buckeyes and Hawkeyes each already have a loss, and can’t afford another if they have any hope of getting to the Rose Bowl to play for the Bowl Championship Series title.

No. 9 Louisville plays its first Big East game against fellow league newcomer South Florida.

No. 11 Purdue is at Minnesota and No. 14 Michigan at Wisconsin in two other games matching Big Ten contenders.

Colorado plays at No. 12 Miami; No. 16 Notre Dame is at Washington, where former Fighting Irish coach Tyrone Willingham gets a crack at Charlie Weis’ team.

No. 17 Michigan State, coming off a big win against Notre Dame, will try to avoid a letdown at Illinois.

No. 18 Arizona State is at Oregon State; No. 19 Texas Tech plays Division I-AA Indiana State; No. 20 Alabama hosts Arkansas; and No. 23 Virginia is home for Duke.

USC is ranked No. 1 for a reason, and a lot of it has to do with a potent offense led by Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Matt Leinart and tailback Reggie Bush.

Leinart has completed 75 percent of his attempts (36-48) to lead the nation and the Pac-10 in passing efficiency. He is averaging 356.5 passing yards a game.

Bush averages 105.5 yards rushing a game. He has run for three touchdowns and caught another this season.

Last weekend against Arkansas, Leinart passed for 381 yards and four touchdowns and ran for one more score in USC’s 70-17 rout. The Trojans had 736 yards in total offense.

“It’s the best offense we’ve faced ever, probably throughout school history,” Oregon cornerback Aaron Gipson said.

The Ducks are still tweaking their offense, having gone to a spread-option under new offensive coordinator Gary Crowton, former coach at Brigham Young.

Largely untested against Houston and Montana, the Ducks’ offense was challenged last weekend against then-No. 23 Fresno State. While the Bulldogs kept it close, quarterback Kellen Clemens threw for 332 yards and four touchdowns to lead Oregon to a 37-34 victory.

Demetrius Williams caught eight passes for 95 yards and two touchdowns, while Terrence Whitehead rushed for 96 yards and a score, and caught another TD.

Clemens has passed for 955 yards and eight touchdowns this season. In 125 attempts, he has yet to throw an interception. He also has rushed for 137 yards.

“Clemens is real quick to take off, he has great confidence to take off and run. He has the ability to break tackles, and he isn’t worried about getting hit. He is very physical at running at the quarterback spot. All of that poses a lot of problems, not to mention all of the option stuff he is doing, too. He has the ball in his hands the whole game. He is the guy, he poses a very difficult challenge for us,” Carroll said.

Southern California’s defense took a hit against Arkansas when linebacker and co-captain Dallas Sartz dislocated his shoulder. Backup Brian Cushing also has a dislocated shoulder and won’t play this weekend, leaving sophomore Thomas Williams to start.

And cornerback Terrell Thomas tore knee ligaments and is probably sidelined for the remainder of the season. John Walker, a senior, will take his place.

Oregon defensive end Devan Long was expected to return from a knee injury he’s had since the opener against Houston, providing some senior leadership against USC, which has outscored its opponents 133-34.

“That’s real important. Devan is our best pass rusher. He can bring a lot to our defense, holding the edge down,” defensive tackle Haloti Ngata said.