The kick went up, square off the foot of sophomore kicker Alejandro Maldonado.@@CE@@ It sailed as a sellout crowd of 59,933@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205266631@@ looked on in silence. If the ball went through, Oregon would tie the game against USC at 38 and send it into overtime. From 37-yards out, it was well within Maldonado’s range.
Wide left.
Oregon (9-2, 7-1 Pac-12)@@http://www.pac-12.org/SPORTS/Football/Standings.aspx@@ fell at the hands of the Trojans (9-2, 6-2)@@see previous@@ by a final score of 38-35 on Saturday night, leaving the Autzen Stadium crowd shocked after the Ducks’ first home loss since 2008. USC quarterback Matt Barkley threw for 323 yards and four touchdowns,@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205266631@@ while a balanced Trojan rushing attack gouged the Ducks in the second half. But Oregon’s own mistakes were ultimately too much to overcome.
“You can’t make the mistakes we did, especially early, against a good football team like that,” Oregon head coach Chip Kelly@@CE@@ said. “And they capitalized on it.”
The night got off to an ominous start when Oregon was held scoreless for the first time all season in the opening quarter.@@http://dailytrojan.com/2011/11/19/usc-survives-late-rally-to-stun-oregon-in-eugene/@@ In their first four possessions, the Ducks punted twice, fumbled and turned the ball over on downs.@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205266631@@
The Trojans, meanwhile, were quelled early on but broke through when quarterback Matt Barkley@@CE@@ hit receiver Marqise Lee@@CE@@ for a 59-yard touchdown.@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205266631@@ On the very next drive, Barkley threaded through the Oregon defense over nine plays and found receiver Robert Woods for USC’s second touchdown of the game.@@see previous@@
“I just don’t think we were ready,” wide receiver Josh Huff@@CE@@ said. “We weren’t mentally ready, and we just thought we were going to come in against ‘SC and just run over them.”
All of a sudden, Oregon found itself in a 14-0 hole and would never recover.
The Ducks finally found the end zone late in the second quarter, as a 29-yard touchdown pass from Darron Thomas@@CE@@ to De’Anthony Thomas@@CE@@ cut the score to 14-7.@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205266631@@ But Barkley and USC came right back with a seven play, 50-yard drive of their own that began with a 47-yard kick return by Lee and ended with a four-yard touchdown pass to receiver Robert Woods@@CE@@. @@see previous@@
Oregon drove the ball all the way to USC’s nine-yard line as the half winded down, but running back LaMichael James@@CE@@ fumbled on third and 1, and the Trojans recovered. Just like that, a chance to cut the score to 21-14 headed into halftime was gone.
“We gave them too many opportunities,” Kelly said. “Especially the turnovers in the red zone, and those were the ones that hurt us the most.”
The third quarter began in much the same fashion as Oregon went three-and-out and had a punt blocked deep in its own territory. The Trojans were held to just a field goal, though, and the Ducks finally showed signs of life on a four play, 43-yard scoring drive capped by a Kenjon Barner touchdown run.
Yet the Trojans refused to let up, and after two more touchdowns appeared to have locked up a victory with a 38-14 advantage.
De’Anthony Thomas would have none of that.
The explosive freshmen returned a kickoff 96 yards to pay dirt, cutting the lead to 38-20 and bringing the crowd back to life.
“I just wanted to get the team back in the game,” Thomas said. “And we did.”
Indeed, two more scores and a costly interception from Barkley cut the score to 38-35. USC still had a chance to ice the game with just over seven minutes left, but running back Marc Tyler coughed up the ball at the Oregon 11-yard line, giving the Ducks one final shot to tie or win the game.
“We screwed up in the second half,” USC coach Lane Kiffin said. “We didn’t finish off our drives in the second half. That’s why it became so close. We had multiple turnovers in there.”
The Ducks took the ball with the intent to win but had to settle for the field goal attempt in the waning seconds. Maldonado missed, and the USC players flooded the field to celebrate a major upset. The Ducks, meanwhile, left the field disappointed but determined to move on.
“It’s crucial to put this one behind us,” said running back Kenjon Barner, who finished with 123 yards on 15 carries. “We need to move on and put this behind us.”
Comeback attempt falls short as No. 18 USC edges Oregon 38-35
Daily Emerald
November 18, 2011
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