OREGON 0/28/14/14 - 56
USC 10/7/0/7 - 24
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - The Ducks trailed 10-0 on the road at the end of the first quarter, but dominated the last three behind big plays in every phase of the game. After a shaky start, Justin Herbert finished strong by throwing three touchdowns to Juwan Johnson, Mykael Wright returned a kick for a 100-yard score and the Duck defense came up with four turnovers in what amounted to a very successful recruiting trip to Los Angeles.
True freshman Kedon Slovis scrapped together a 16-play, 77-yard touchdown drive on the opening possession to take an early lead. Then, after the Ducks and Trojans traded punts, Herbert was picked off by Isaiah Pola-Mao who returned it to the Oregon 8-yard line. Thankfully, the defense responded to the sudden change by holding them to a field goal.
The second quarter was far kinder to the No. 7 Ducks, as three consecutive turnovers led to 21 unanswered points for Oregon: the first was an interception from Verone McKinley that resulted in a 10-yard touchdown run from Herbert; the second took place at the Duck three-yard line, when Drayton Carlberg forced a Slovis fumble that sparked a 9-play, 92-yard touchdown drive that concluded with Jaylon Redd strong-arming his way into the end zone; and the third occurred when pressure from Kayvon Thibodeaux resulted in an easy 32-yard pick-six from Brady Breeze.
The Ducks were up 21 to 10 with 2:16 left before the half, but Slovis and the Trojan offense managed to cut the lead to four with a Michael Pittman Jr 13-yard touchdown, reigniting the home crowd and frustrating Andy Avalos and the defense. However, a 100-yard kick return from Mykael Wright re-established Oregon’s 11-point lead and seemed to deflate the Trojans’ confidence for the rest of the game.
The Oregon offense quickly piled on USC’s woes by marching 80 yards on the first drive of the second half and adding seven more points to their lead with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Juwan Johnson, his first score of the night. USC’s proceeding possession failed to rekindle their first-quarter fire when it ended with another Slovis interception, this time at the hands of Deommodore Lenoir. Once again, Oregon capitalized off of USC’s mistake by turning it into seven points; Lenoir’s pick placed the Ducks at the Trojan 34-yard line and six plays later Johnson was back in the end zone to put the Ducks up 42 to 17.
Mycah Pittman and Juwan Johnson added two more touchdowns before USC was able to score again, and both receivers were able to satisfy personal vendetta’s against the Trojans. Pittman was able to taunt his older brother (USC receiver Michael Pittman Jr.) for years to come around the dinner table, and Johnson’s 106-yard, three-touchdown performance avenged his former team’s Rose Bowl loss when Sam Darnold beat Penn State in a record-breaking shootout. Even rarely used backup quarterback Tyler Shough managed to make the highlight reel when he delivered a vicious block to a Trojan defender in the final play of the game.
The Trojans added the final touchdown of the evening in garbage time, but the damage was done. On this day, the Ducks were not only more disciplined than the once-mighty Trojans, they also had more talent than the team known for its talent-filled rosters.
“We started a little slow, but once we got going, we really got going.”
- Mario Cristobal
Oregon Offense (total: 405 - pass: 266 - rush: 139)
USC Offense (total: 355 - pass: 264 - rush: 91)
Oregon Defense (forced turnovers: 4 - INT: 3 - FUM: 1)
USC Defense (forced turnovers: 1 - INT: 1)
UO (8-1, 6-0) USC (5-4, 4-2)