In front of 88,726 red-and yellow-clad fans, Oregon senior wide receiver Jeff Maehl and sophomore running back LaMichael James scored three touchdowns each en route to 53-32 win over then-No. 24 USC at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Saturday night.
With the win, Oregon (8-0, 5-0 Pacific-10 Conference) preserved its perfect record heading into this week’s home matchup with the Washington Huskies. The Trojans dropped to 5-3 overall and 2-3 in Pac-10 play.
“Not many teams come into the Coliseum and beat the Trojans by three scores,” Oregon defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti told the Register-Guard. “I was really concerned about this one. This one being away, against a team that had two weeks to prepare, that was geared up to get us and everything was right for this one … it’s special.”
After holding USC to a field goal on the game’s opening possession, sophomore quarterback Darron Thomas led a nine-play, 76-yard drive that resulted in a 15-yard touchdown catch by Maehl and an ensuing two-point conversion pass from holder Nate Costa to defensive tackle Brandon Bair.
The Trojans responded with a Marc Tyler one-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter to go up 10-8, but James put Oregon back on top with a 42-yard scoring strike of his own. Tyler scored once more before the end of the half, but Thomas and the Ducks’ aerial attack was already in the driver’s seat.
Once freshman linebacker Boseko Lokombo jumped on an errant snap in the Trojan backfield, it took Thomas just one play to find the end zone, hitting Maehl with a 45-yard scoring strike capped by a highlight-reel catch.
“He made a difficult catch — even though it could have been easier,” Thomas said jokingly.
Both teams exchanged punts and Oregon got the ball back with less than two minutes remaining in the first half. Two plays later, junior wide receiver Lavasier Tuinei pulled down a 33-yard touchdown catch to put the Ducks on top 29-17 at the half.
USC responded well in the third quarter, putting up two quick scores to go ahead 32-29, but they would not tally another point for the rest of the game.
On the ensuing possession, Maehl pulled in his third touchdown on a 30-yard catch and run. Oregon scored on its final three possessions with James’ runs from of two and eight yards out, which sandwiched a 34-yard field goal by sophomore Rob Beard.
“We feel like we can do anything,” James told the Los Angeles Times.
James continued to show why he’s considered to be among the top running backs in the nation, carrying the ball a career-high 36 times for 239 yards and three scores. In his seventh game in 2010, James became the fastest player in Oregon history to reach the 1,000-yard mark in terms of games played. The Texarkana, Texas, native became the third Duck player with two 1,000-yard seasons in a career, matching the likes of Onterrio Smith and Maurice Morris.
The sophomore had plenty of help in the passing game as Thomas completed 19 of 32 passes for 288 yards and a career-high four touchdowns, three of which went to Maehl, who pulled in eight receptions for 145 yards.
“We honestly thought coming into this game that we had a good chance of beating them,” USC defensive end Wes Horton told the Los Angeles Times. “But that offense is better than a lot of people thought.”
USC’s offense left something to be desired after two full weeks of preparation. Tyler paced the ground game with 17 carries for 69 yards and two early scores, while sophomore quarterback Matt Barkley went 26 for 49 for 264 yards and one touchdown.
Trojan wide receiver Robert Woods led all players with 259 all-purpose yards, 200 coming from kick returns.
In all, Oregon kept the game somewhat closer than it should have been by committing eight penalties for 85 yards. The offense, however, nearly put up 600 yards for the second straight year against USC, coming in 14 yards shy of last years total to finish at 599.
“People say you have to hold the ball and snap it slow and keep them off the field,” USC head coach Lane Kiffin said. “But you can’t, really. Because you’ve got to go try and score some points.”
USC became the seventh opponent this season that Oregon has held scoreless in the fourth quarter.
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No. 1 Oregon runs away from USC in second half, wins 53-32
Daily Emerald
October 31, 2010
Courtesy of Brandon Hui
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