It took awhile for No. 23 Oregon (7-3, 5-2 Pac-12) and No. 22 USC (7-3, 5-2) to get going on offense, but once they settled down, big plays were the name of the game.
Despite both teams’ running games being non-existent in the first half — USC with 67 yards, Oregon with 94 yards — Vernon Adams Jr. and Cody Kessler got their teams on the board with deep ball connections.
It should be noted that Oregon’s Reggie Daniels headed to the locker room after suffering an apparent leg injury.
Key Plays:
— Oregon punched first with a 48-yard touchdown connection between Adams and Bralon Addison, giving the Ducks an early 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter.
— Cody Kessler answered back with a 27-yard touchdown pass to Darreus Rogers in the corner of the end zone late to tie the game at 7-7 in the first quarter.
— Looking confused with how wide open he was, Oregon tight end Evan Baylis caught Adams’ second touchdown pass for a 52-yard score to take a 14-7 lead with 1:32 remaining in the first quarter.
— After a quick drive for the Trojans offense, Kessler lobbed a 12-yard pass to his tight end Cody Petite to even the score at 14-14 at the 12:13 mark in the second quarter.
— With under three minutes to go in the first half, Adams found a streaking Royce Freeman near the Oregon sideline for a 36-yard gain. Adams capped off the drive with a 30-yard lob to Kani Benoit to take 28-14 lead heading into halftime.
— Following a pair of big gains from Freeman and Addison, Aidan Schneider capped off the first half with a 37-yard kick through the uprights, giving Oregon a comfortable 31-14 advantage heading into halftime.
Stats
Oregon passing
Vernon Adams Jr. — 14-of-17 for 313 yards, four touchdowns, one interception
USC passing
Cody Kessler — 17-of-25 for 153 yards, two touchdowns
Oregon rushing
Royce Freeman — Nine carries for 84 yards
USC rushing
Justin Davis — Seven carries for 36 yards
Oregon receiving
Bralon Addison — Four catches for 98 yards, one touchdown
Evan Baylis — Two catches for 62 yards, one touchdown
Darren Carrington — Three catches for 55 yards, one touchdown
Kani Benoit — One catch for 30 yards, one touchdown
USC receiving
Darreus Rogers — Three catches for 47 yards, one touchdown
JuJu Smith-Schuster — Three catches for 43 yards
Oregon total offense — 407 yards
USC total offense — 220 yards
Follow Hayden Kim on Twitter @HayDayKim
Rapid reaction: Big plays equate to 31-14 Oregon lead over USC at halftime
Hayden Kim
November 20, 2015
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