Oregon running back Onterrio Smith got a call from former Duck Rashad Bauman this morning, and Bauman said exactly what was on his mind. He also said what was on all the Ducks’ minds.
“You better not lose your second in a row, because that hasn’t happened around here in a long time,” Bauman told the junior running back.
On Saturday, Smith and the Ducks defied Bauman’s advice and lost their second-straight contest, this one a 44-33 blowout at the hands of the No. 15 Southern California Trojans. Oregon led 19-14 at halftime, but USC stormed back in front of 56,754 fans at Autzen Stadium.
“You can’t expect to win if you only play a half of football,” Oregon linebacker Kevin Mitchell said.
The Ducks said they came out of halftime fired up, but the Trojans were the ones who made all the plays. USC senior quarterback Carson Palmer threw two touchdowns in the third quarter and one early in the fourth, and running back Justin Fargas ran for another score as the Trojans went on a 30-0 run in the second half to put the game away.
“There’s nothing better than coming in here and beating these guys,” Palmer said. “Their fans are out of control, and to shut them up and watch them walk up the stands — just the lack of class those guys have every time they beat us, the fans and the players. For us to be classy about our win and walk out and shake their hands and tell them ‘good game’ and ‘good luck,’ it just felt good.”
Oregon’s secondary, which gave up a Pacific-10 Conference-record 536 passing yards in the Ducks’ loss to Arizona State last week, gave up another 448 to Palmer and the Trojans, a USC record for passing yards.
“It was close in the first half, but we’ll have to look at what happened in that third quarter,” Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti said.
After the first half, the game had all the earmarks of the thrilling USC-Oregon contests of recent years. Oregon kicker Jared Siegel knocked in four field goals, including a 48-yarder, as the Ducks overcame Palmer touchdowns of eight and 35 yards. Oregon’s only touchdown came on a bomb from Jason Fife to Keenan Howry, a 54-yard pass that put Oregon ahead 10-7.
The Ducks were also making big defensive plays, blocking a field goal attempt, notching two sacks and coming up with a momentum-shifting interception in the endzone.
But after halftime, the tables turned. Drastically.
“In the third quarter, they made all the plays and we didn’t make any,” linebacker David Moretti said.Palmer opened up the second-half scoring with a 31-yard touchdown pass to Kareem Kelly, but the extra point was blocked to make the score 20-19 with 11:36 remaining in the period. Less than five minutes later, Fargas ran in from 15 yards, and Palmer hit Williams on a 15-yard slant with 3:01 left to make the score 34-19.
By the time Palmer hit Malaefou MacKenzie for an eight-yard score early in the fourth quarter, many fans were already heading for the exits.
Oregon’s offense sputtered in the second half, which didn’t help the defensive effort. Smith was held to 79 yards rushing, his lowest total of the year and the first time in 12 games that he was held under 100 yards. Fife also struggled, completing only 20 of his 45 pass attempts.
The Ducks will be at home again next week to take on the Stanford Cardinal, the only team to beat Oregon last year.
Notes: Smith was held to under 100 yards but still surpassed the 1,000-yard mark for the season in the third quarter… Howry and Kelly both broke the Pac-10 record for consecutive games with a catch, at 43 games… The attendance of 56,754 was the highest of the season and in Autzen Stadium history… Oregon backup wide receiver Keith Allen sprained his right ankle; his status is questionable for next week.
Contact the sports editor at [email protected].
Second-straight sting
Daily Emerald
October 26, 2002
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