OREGON 6/0/7/7 - 20
USC 17/7/14/7 - 45
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - After showing signs of life in their victory against Arizona State, in which freshman Justin Herbert had a record-setting performance to earn the Ducks their first conference win of the season, Oregon failed to be competitive against the Rose Bowl-bound USC Trojans led by another talented young quarterback - redshirt freshman Sam Darnold. Herbert finished 18-of-33 for 162 yards and a touchdown, while Darnold threw 28-of-40 for 309 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
The real damage was done on the ground; Ronald Jones II carried the ball 20 times and amassed 171 yards and four touchdowns against a Duck defense riddled with injuries. On the other end, Oregon’s star running back Royce Freeman only managed to gain 38 yards on 10 carries against a defense determined to shut him down. The Trojans scored on their first three possessions of the game to take a 17-0 lead, two of those scores were touchdown runs from Jones, before Charles Nelson was finally able to respond with an end around that resulted in a 25-yard touchdown just before the second quarter.
Aidan Schneider missed the PAT, which served as a sign of things to come as the miss snapped a school-record streak of 102 made attempts. The Trojans put together another touchdown drive just before halftime; the two-yard touchdown pass to Deontay Burnett gave USC a 24-6 lead. Three plays into the third quarter, Jones made a statement play by scoring a 66-yard touchdown. Then, on USC’s next possession, Darnold committed the game’s only turnover when freshman Brenden Schooler picked him off. Unfortunately, Oregon wasn’t able to turn the turnover into points, and USC scored back-to-back touchdowns on their next two possessions: a seven-yard pass to Taylor McNamara, and a one-yard run from Jones for his fourth and final score.
The Ducks scored twice in the second half: on their first drive of the third quarter, when Herbert led an 80-yard drive that was capped off with a short touchdown pass to tight end Pharaoh Brown, and on their final drive, when former starting quarterback Dakota Prukop entered the game to finish a scoring drive with a 15-yard keeper.
Two freshmen defensive players stood out as bright spots: Troy Dye finished with a team-high 13 tackles, and Brenden Schooler tallied his fourth interception of the season to tie the PAC-12 lead at the time. The Ducks would need to win their final three games to assure bowl eligibility.
“You have to seize those moments. Had a drop for a touchdown. All those things that just flip the mentality, flip the psychology. Guys continued to play hard, just have to harness those moments.”
- Mark Helfrich
Oregon Offense (total: 288 - pass: 203 - rush: 85)
USC Offense (total: 579 - pass: 309 - rush: 270)
Oregon Defense (forced turnovers: 1 - INT: 1)
USC Defense (forced turnovers: 0)
UO (3-6, 1-5) USC (6-3, 5-2)