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USC Trojans vs Oregon Ducks Football Recap

Oregon 53, USC 32

On a day when USC announced the building of new football offices and facilities, the Trojans crumbled in their historic stadium.

USC couldn’t keep pace with a faster Oregon team and gave up 24 unanswered points at the end of Saturday’s 53-32 loss at the Coliseum.

The homecoming game was billed as USC’s bowl game, accompanied by an electric atmosphere courtesy of ESPN’s GameDay set. But the Trojans’ performance was unlike any of the team’s recent postseason games.

LaMichael James ran for 239 yards, a record for USC opponents in the Coliseum, and three touchdowns. Darron Thomas tossed four touchdowns, three of which went to Jeff Maehl.

The Ducks totaled 599 yards in a performance that vaulted them to the top of the BCS standings.

The Trojans had their chances to unseat the likely Pac-10 champions. Matt Barkley had the Trojans at the Oregon 44-yard line up 17-15 in the second quarter, but the sophomore quarterback fumbled a shotgun snap. USC coach Lane Kiffin later took the blame for the play, saying he distracted Barkley by barking instructions from the sideline.

On the next play, Thomas found Maehl for an acrobatic 45-yard touchdown over the middle of the field to give the Ducks the lead.

USC stormed back from a 12-point halftime deficit to regain the lead. Jurrell Casey’s interception set up a 5-yard touchdown pass from Barkley to Ronald Johnson. On the Trojans’ following drive, Johnson’s 55-yard punt return led USC to a 1-yard touchdown dive by Barkley to put the score at 32-29.

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But the Ducks responded with Maehl’s third touchdown of the day. USC didn’t score again, with a Barkley interception and two failed fourth-down attempts halting any progress.

Barkley finished the day with 264 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Though Barkley was only sacked two times, Oregon’s blitzes placed him under frequent pressure.

Marc Tyler led USC with 69 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries, but USC only ran for an average of 3.1 yards per carry as a team.

After saying following the game that depth had not been an issue, Kiffin changed his stance Sunday and said that the Trojans were worn down.

The win was the Ducks’ first in the Coliseum since 2000. The Trojans have now lost four of their last seven home games. Arizona State comes to Los Angeles this week for the final part of USC’s three-game homestand.

By Mike Schwartz
DFN Sports Staff Writer