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EUGENE, Oregon (Ticker) -- No. 12 Oregon hopes to start another winning streak Saturday when it hosts 16th-ranked Southern California in a battle of teams trying to stay in the thick of the Pac-10 Conference race.

Oregon (6-1, 2-1 Pac-10) is coming off a bitter 45-42 loss to surprising Arizona State in which it squandered an early 21-point lead. The setback snapped the Ducks' 11-game winning streak - the second-longest in the nation behind Miami's 28-game run - and denied the Ducks their first 7-0 start since 1933.

Oregon and USC (5-2, 3-1) trail Washington State and Arizona State, who are the only unbeaten teams in the Pac-10 at 3-0.

Oregon had no answer for Arizona State's Andrew Walter, who completed 31-of-53 passes for four touchdowns and a Pac-10-record 536 yards. Walter helped the Sun Devils rally from a 21-0 deficit early in the second period and a 35-17 hole late in the third quarter.

In a conference that seems to have no shortage of outstanding signal-callers, the Ducks will be facing another top quarterback in USC's Carson Palmer, who led the Trojans (5-2, 3-1) to an impressive 41-21 victory over Washington last week.

Palmer completed 21-of-34 passes for 348 yards, his ninth career 300-yard game. He threw four touchdown passes, three to Mike Williams, as USC scored its most points against the Huskies since 1974.

But it will be no easy task winning at Autzen Stadium, where the Ducks had won 29 of 30 games before last week's loss. Oregon has not dropped consecutive contests at home since 1997.

The Ducks have been a nemesis for the Trojans in recent years, winning four straight and five of the last six in the series. For the second straight year, the Trojans have to visit Eugene.

In last year's meeting, Jared Sigel converted a 22-yard field goal with 12 seconds remaining to give the Ducks a 24-22 victory. Two years before, Oregon defeated USC, 33-30, in triple overtime at Autzen Stadium.

USC will be trying to stop Jason Fife, who leads the Pac-10 in passing efficiency, and Onterrio Smith, who leads the conference in rushing.

USC has not allowed 100-yard rusher this season, while Smith has surpassed the mark in every game. He carried 27 times for 172 yards and three touchdowns against Arizona State, raising his season total to 936 yards on 182 attempts. Smith needs 123 yards to surpass last season's total of 1,058.

Despite its recent struggles against Oregon, USC leads the all-time series, 33-15-2.