LOS ANGELES — USC offensive lineman Elijah Paige is locked in for game day before he even gets out of bed.

“It all starts with how we wake up, how we stretch in the hotel, how we do walkthroughs in the hotel,” Paige said. “Everything that we do leading up to the game should be that fast start, and that all leads to the first drive of the game.”

The 12th-ranked Trojans (4-0 overall, 1-0 Big Ten) have struggled to start games with authority in their last two outings, and setting the tone will be a must for them in Saturday’s game against No. 20 Oregon (2-1, 0-0) and a defense that could make them pay for early mistakes.

Quarterback Jayden Maiava went 0-for-3 passing and threw an interception on USC’s opening drive against Louisiana. A week later, against Rutgers, he was 3-for-8 passing and the Trojans were dealt two penalties for a combined 15 yards on the opening drive.

USC reached the 17-yard line, but was forced to settle for a field goal.

“We haven’t played some of our best ball in the last few weeks,” head coach Lincoln Riley said. “That’s always important moving forward, but we’ve been able to get in some pretty nice rhythms as well. I don’t know if there’s anything magic to it. We need to play a little bit cleaner, we need to take care of the ball, and we need to be better in the red zone.”

Oregon’s defense has the fifth-best turnover margin (1.33) of the 18 teams in the Big Ten Conference. The Ducks, who are on a four-game win streak against USC, have hauled in a conference-best five interceptions through three games and four players have recorded an interception this season.

Freshman defensive back Jett Washington leads the defense with two picks.

But it’s not just keeping the ball – it’s about taking it to the end zone, too.

“Finishing in the red zone was definitely one of the big points for us,” Riley said. “Obviously, the previous week, we had a turnover. We want to come out of the gates fast. That’s a big part of it, but you’ve also got to be ready to respond if you don’t. Our guys have done a pretty good job of that.”

Playing at the Coliseum could give USC an edge, since the Trojans are 24-9-1 when these two teams play in Los Angeles. Players don’t have to travel and can go through their game-day routines in a familiar environment.

“It’s just being in the Coliseum, knowing what everything looks like, what everything sounds like,” Paige said, “and, really, the momentum of just having the fans cheer for you rather than the fans cheering for somebody else.”

This game could potentially have long-term effects on the 12-team College Football Playoff, making the stakes even higher. Oregon already has one loss this season to Oklahoma State, and USC can hardly afford to take any early hits to its record with games against No. 13 Penn State, No. 7 Ohio State and No. 5 Indiana still to come later this season.

Riley and his players emphasized during Tuesday’s media availability that they’re not treating this game with the same urgency as any other.

“We’re just focused on the game plan, the preparation, practice every single day,” quarterback Jayden Maiava said.

USC’s home game against Washington on Oct. 3 will kick off at 4:30 p.m. and will be shown on NBC (Ch. 4).

It’ll be the second straight 4:30 home kickoff for the Trojans, who play Oregon at the same time this weekend.

Safety Christian Pierce was named the Jim Thorpe Award National Defensive Back of the Week. He recorded a game-high 11 tackles and added an interception in USC’s 42-35 victory over Rutgers. He led all defensive backs nationally in tackles that weekend.

Kicker Caden Chittenden was named the Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week and running back Riley Wormley was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week.

Chittenden’s two field goals and four PATs equated to 10 points against Rutgers. Wormley scored his first touchdown as a Trojan and ended the game with two touchdowns on four carries.