USC’s College Football Playoff hopes dashed in Oregon
EUGENE, Oregon — The No. 16 USC football team saw its College Football Playoff hopes dramatically diminish Saturday afternoon following a 42-27 Big Ten loss to No. 6 Oregon.
The Trojans struggled to run the ball and collected just 52 yards on the ground, and the 42 points given up were a season-high.
A win would have nearly guaranteed USC (8-3, 6-2 Big Ten) a top-10 spot in the CFP rankings and its first spot in the CFP.
Trojans quarterback Jayden Maiava completed 25 of 43 passes for 306 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions. Tanook Hines was the leading receiver with six catches for 141 yards and a touchdown.
Oregon’s Dante Moore was 22 for 30 for 257 yards and two touchdowns and Noah Whittington was the game’s leading rusher with 104 yards and a touchdown. The Ducks (10-1, 7-1) finished with 436 yards of total offense.
Multiple discipline-related penalties hurt USC in the first half. Three of the Trojans’ four penalties in the first half were unsportsmanlike conduct flags and the fourth was a costly call on special teams.
Two of those penalties led to an Oregon touchdown in the second quarter.
Oregon defensive back Ify Obidegwu picked off Maiava when he overthrew tight end Walker Lyons, who had three defenders on him. As the Ducks were celebrating, USC receiver Ja’Kobi Lane followed them, pointing at the ball – apparently wanting his team’s passing ball back – and was flagged for a 15-yard penalty.
The Ducks reached the 26-yard line and were settling for a field goal. Atticus Sappington’s kick bounced off the upright, but the doink was moot. USC linebacker Desman Stephens was penalized for leaping over the players lined up in front of him, giving the ball back to Oregon at the 4-yard line.
Four players later, Ducks senior linebacker and former walk-on Bryce Boettcher swung an imaginary baseball bat in celebration of his 1-yard touchdown run on Senior Day.
The start of the game was more optimistic. USC was the first to score, grinding out a 75-yard drive capped by a Makai Lemon touchdown reception. The slot receiver crossed the pylon with willpower despite a late shove by an Oregon defender.
Ducks running back Jordon Davison grabbed an 11-yard touchdown catch on the next drive, and tight end Kenyon Sadiq had his second catch of the game on an eight-yard touchdown. The two scoring plays gave Oregon a 14-7 advantage with 1:31 remaining in the first quarter.
Hines’ leaping 24-yard snag near the corner of the end zone came from Lemon, who threw the second completion of his career, to tie the game at 14. Oregon answered with an 85-yard punt return by Malik Benson to take back the lead.
Boettcher’s touchdown gave them the lead with 1:52 before halftime. USC drove and had a chance to trim its deficit, but Ryon Sayeri missed his second field goal all season, hitting the right upright from 27 yards out to leave the score at 28-14 at the break.
The Trojans’ defense, which had performed admirably in the second half of the past two games, made a critical fourth-down stop after coming out of the locker room to get USC the ball early.
Maiava was intercepted for the second time – this time by Jadon Canady – and Oregon reclaimed the ball. But Kennedy Urlacher, starting in place of an injured Bishop Fitzgerald, conjured up a big play to keep USC in the game.
The Notre Dame transfer intercepted Moore, setting the Trojans up for what would become a scoring drive. Lemon finished the job by reaching over the pylon for a 4-yard touchdown catch.
The play brought USC within 28-21, but Sadiq showed why he’s a future NFL player, splitting the Trojans’ safeties to secure a 28-yard touchdown catch with 2:13 left in the third quarter.
Trojans tight end Lake McRee’s 9-yard touchdown catch early in the final quarter made it a one-possession game, but the Trojans failed to execute the two-point conversion and trailed 35-27. The Ducks tacked on another touchdown on a nine-yard Whittington run with 5:38 to play, capping an 11-play, 79-yard drive that chewed up 5:58 of the clock.
USC has one game remaining on its regular-season schedule. The Nov. 29 rivalry game against UCLA at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is slated for 12:30 p.m. or 4:30 p.m., based on television networks’ decisions.