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No. 1 Oregon Vs. No. 24 USC: Ducks Roll Trojans, 53-32, In Key Road Test

Oregon made its latest BCS statement Saturday, beating USC by three touchdowns in Los Angeles after a back-and-forth opening to once of the last remaining obstacles to the Ducks national title hopes.

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21 Total Updates since October 28, 2010
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Oregon Vs. USC: James Rushes For 239 Yards, 3 TDs As Ducks Overwhelm Trojans

Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) — LaMichael James rushed for 239 yards and three touchdowns and Darron Thomas threw three of his four TDs to Jeff Maehl, as the No. 1 Oregon Ducks were too much for the 24th-ranked USC Trojans, scoring the final 24 points en route to a 53-32 triumph at the Coliseum.

The trio was part of a prolific offense that outgained the Trojans, 599-376, as the Ducks (8-0, 5-0 Pac-10) matched a school record for most consecutive victories to start a season.

Thomas completed 19-of-32 throws for 288 yards, 145 of which went to Maehl on eight hookups.

USC (5-3, 2-3), playing its first game against a top-ranked foe since 1992, failed to do much offensively after scoring two touchdowns in the first four minutes of the second half.

Matt Barkley completed 26-of-49 throws for 263 yards with two interceptions and a TD toss to Ronald Johnson. Marc Tyler rushed for two scores in the loss, the Trojans’ third in their last four games.

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Oregon Vs. USC: Oregon Beats USC, Jump Latest Hurdle In BCS Championship Quest

And it’s a wrap in Los Angeles. Oregon churned out 599 yards of total offense, LaMichael James ran for 239 and three touchdowns and Darron Thomas added four scores through the air in a 53-32 waxing of USC at the Coliseum.

Oregon’s defense also flustered Matt Barkley, picking him off twice while allowing him to throw for just one touchdown. Barkley threw for 262 yards, but his average was low and his accuracy was off (26-of-49).

The Ducks remaining schedule: Washington, at Cal, bye, Arizona, at Oregon State. Win those games, and they’ll be in the BCS National Championship Game against someone.

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Oregon Vs. USC: That's It As LaMichael James, Ducks Break 50

LaMichael James has scored his third touchdown and now has 239 yards on the game. James just had an eight-yard touchdown run to push the Ducks’ point total to 53 and their lead to 21. There are two and a half minutes left in the game.

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Oregon Vs. USC: Boyett Picks Off Barkley, And It's Not Over But It's Close

John Boyett just picked off Matt Barkley at the goal line, giving Oregon the ball back with about five minutes to go and the lead standing at 14. Barring a great comeback on the part of USC — and it would truly have to be something — this one’s over

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Oregon Vs. USC: Oregon Settles For FG, Takes 46-32 Lead

Oregon just ran another 4:20 off the clock in Los Angeles but settled for a field goal, leading 46-32 with less than half the fourth quarter remaining. The Ducks have scored 17 straight points to take a 14-point lead and put the Trojans on the ropes.

As you might expect with Oregon’s lead, the Trojans are getting a heavy dose of LaMichael James and the rest of the Ducks’ running attack. Darron Thomas attempted one pass on the last drive.

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Oregon Vs. USC: Ducks Run Lead To 11 With LaMichael James TD

LaMichael James ran for his second touchdown of the day, to go along with 128 rushing yards so far, to once again stretch the Oregon lead to two scores. It capped an 11-play, 82-yard drive that was the second time Oregon held the ball for four minutes in the second quarter.

The longer the Ducks’ fast-paced offense holds the ball on each drive, the more of a toll it takes on the Trojans defense, which can’t make USC coaches and fans feel confident right now.

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Oregon Vs. USC: And Now The Ducks Retake The Lead

Jeff Maehl scored his third touchdown on a third-and-long pass from Darron Thomas, and Oregon now has a 36-32 lead. We’re a little more than halfway through the third quarter, though, so there are probably many points yet to be scored.

The two teams have already topped 630 yards of offense, and they’ve combined for 33 first downs in a bit more than 38 minutes.

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Oregon Vs. USC: Bring Back The Upset Alert As Trojans Lead, 32-29

And the No. 1 team in the AP poll is suddenly in trouble for the third time in four weeks.

USC has now stopped Oregon twice and scored two touchdowns, the last one set up by Ronald Johnson’s 55-yard punt return and capped off with Matt Barkley’s three-yard touchdown run, giving the Trojans the lead. Barkley also hit Johnson for the two-point conversion USC has been looking for, so the lead is three.

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Oregon Vs. USC: Jurrell Casey Interception Sets Up TD For USC

Oregon has had a less-than-ideal start to the second half. Darron Thomas’ third pass was tipped at the line and intercepted by Jurrell Casey at the Oregon 21. Two plays and a face mask penalty later, and USC has cut the deficit to five, 29-24.

USC got the stop they needed to make this game. And the Trojans just held Oregon to another three-and-out, then returned the punt deep into Ducks territory.

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Oregon Vs. USC: Teams Swap Turnovers To No Effect Before Halftime

Well, 522 yards of total offense and 46 points points later, we’re at halftime. The teams each turned the ball over in the final minutes of the half, with Oregon fumbling the ball away after turning a Cliff Harris interception at the Ducks 1 into a scoring opportunity.

Oregon is now one point behind the whole point-a-minute thing, for those who care about flashy stats that only matter on a superficial level. Right now, it seems like the pace they’re scoring at will be enough to win, unless USC figures out some way to stop them soon.

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Oregon Vs. USC: Ducks Try To Take Control With Second Straight Score

Oregon is going to try to hold onto this lead. Cliff Harris returned a USC punt 41 yards to the Trojans 34, and Darron Thomas hit Lavasier Tuinei on the second play of the drive for a 33-yard touchdown pass.

The 29-17 lead marks the first time either of these teams had made this a two-possession game. And even if USC scores before halftime, the Ducks get it back to start the third quarter.

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Oregon Vs. USC: Ducks Try To Take Control With Second Straight Score

Oregon is going to try to hold onto this lead. Cliff Harris returned a USC punt 41 yards to the Trojans 34, and Darron Thomas hit Lavasier Tuinei on the second play of the drive for a 33-yard touchdown pass.

The 29-17 lead marks the first time either of these teams had made this a two-possession game. And even if USC scores before halftime, the Ducks get it back to start the third quarter.

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Oregon Vs. USC: Trojans Fumble, And Great Catch By Jeff Maehl Gives Oregon 22-17 Lead

Guess who’s in the lead now? If you said Oregon, you’ve been paying attention.

Following a Trojans fumble at the USC 45, apparently caused by Lane Kiffin’s attempt to change the play just before the snap, Oregon needed just one play to cash in. Darron Thomas hit Jeff Maehl on a great catch, and the Ducks now have a 22-17 lead.

It is now USC’s turn to score.

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Oregon Vs. USC: Trojans Score Again, Now Lead 17-15 Midway Through Second Quarter

Marc Tyler just scored his second touchdown of the night, this one from eight yards out to cap a 61-yard drive, and the Trojans have regained their two point lead. At this point, further analysis is really superfluous. One of these teams is going to score in short order, so we’ll have more to say then.

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Oregon Vs. USC: Ducks Back Ahead, But Behind Point-A-Minute Pace

And now Oregon is back in the lead. LaMichael James ran 43 yards for a touchdown — well, he actually strolled for the last few yards, but that’s semantics — and the Ducks took a 15-10 lead.

For those keeping up with things like this, Oregon is slightly behind their point-a-minute pace of earlier this season, having scored 15 points in 17 minutes. But there’s still plenty of time to go, and this game has given us no reason to believe that there won’t be more scoring ahead.

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Oregon Vs. USC: Trojans Reclaim Lead On Marc Tyler TD Run, Up 10-8

We actually had not one but two punts in this game a few minutes ago. But the Trojans returned the last boot by the Ducks to the Oregon 48, then quickly turned it into a touchdown. A one-yard run by Marc Tyler capped off the USC drive, and the Trojans now have a 10-8 lead.

Lane Kiffin briefly weighed going for the two-point conversion but decided against it, and the Trojans settled for seven. Only time will tell if that was a wise decision, because Oregon once again has the ball.

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Oregon Vs. USC: Six Minutes In And 11 Points Scored; Oregon Leads 8-3

As expected, Oregon also made things look relatively easy on its first drive of the game, covering 76 yards on nine plays for the game’s first touchdown. Darron Thomas hit Jeff Maehl for the 15-yard touchdown strike. As they did in the game against UCLA last week, the Ducks decided to go for two. They got it and now lead 8-3, while also keeping alive their point-a-minute pace for the season.

It appears that this game might actually be the points-a-palooza we all expected. At this rate, we’ll have 110 points in the game. Not that such a score is actually likely, but there’s no reason to think that tonight will be a defensive slugfest.

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Oregon Vs. USC: Trojans Take Early Lead On FG

USC has an early lead on the Ducks tonight thanks to a Joe Houston field goal. The Trojans pretty easily marched down the field on the opening drive of the game, going 49 yards on eight plays but stalling out in the red zone.

So USC has the edge right now. But Oregon just got the ball for the first time. And we all know what that means …

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Oregon Vs. USC: Ducks Fly Low On The Road

SB Nation's Addicted To Quack worries about Oregon's recent offensive history in road games:

The Oregon offense has been just about unstoppable this year. It's leading the country in points and yards, but a good amount of those points have come at home.

From a production standpoint, Oregon's offense has been significantly worse on the road. They average almost 200 total yards less per game when away from Autzen (462 ypg vs. 649 ypg), and have not been scoring at the rate they do at home. In 3 road games, the Oregon offense has scored 34, 28, and 36. That's nothing to scoff at, but far off their yearly averages. And while Oregon has been comfortably ahead in each road game, USC's defense, as depleted and inexperienced as they may be, still presents a considerable challenge.

I'm still feeling good about our chances of offensive success, but we're going to have to see each unit step up for the Ducks to stay on their offensive roll.

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Oregon Vs. USC: A Question Of Size

SB Nation's Conquest Chronicles thinks defensive line play will be a crucial element in Saturday's Oregon-USC game:

The Big Uglies will control the line of scrimmage. Size matters and when it comes to comparing the USC and Oregon lines the contest is not even close. The offensive lines are similarly sized, averaging 294 and 295 pounds respectively. But the defensive lines each will be facing present very different match ups. The Duck's defensive line weighs in at an average of just 258 pounds. On the other hand, the Trojan d-line is built like an offensive line, averaging 291 pounds. The size advantage USC enjoys will be important, especially when it comes to protecting the QB and establishing a running game which will be essential to keeping the Oregon offense off the field. On the defensive line, the size match up will be helpful in getting consistent penetration and disrupting the backfield. It also helps that the Trojan lines have been two of the best performing squads on the team this season.
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No. 1 Oregon Vs. No. 24 USC: Ducks Alight In Coliseum

The nation's top-ranked team figures to face a stiff test on the road this weekend as the Oregon Ducks travel to Los Angeles to take on the 24th-ranked USC Trojans in a Pac-10 Conference showdown.

The Ducks improved to 7-0 last week with a 60-13 thrashing of UCLA. Because that game took place on Thursday, the team has had a couple of extra days to prepare for this week's matchup, although USC is coming off an open date. The Ducks own their first No. 1 ranking in school history, and all seven of their wins have come by double figures.

"I have a lot of respect for them," said Oregon coach Chip Kelly of USC. "I checked on them last week and it was 42-0 in the 2nd quarter. It's a good football team."

Speaking of USC, its only two losses to date have come on last-second field goals. The Trojans are 5-2 overall and crushed Cal by a 48-14 final last time out. Lane Kiffin is in his first season as the leader of a program which has certainly endured its share of off-the-field distractions.

"I'm very pleased by the way our players came out today," said Kiffin after the Cal win. "For the first time, we played in exactly the style we wanted to play in."

USC owns a 37-12-1 series lead over Oregon, but the Ducks have won two of the last three meetings.

Oregon possesses a legitimate candidate for the Heisman Trophy in tailback LaMichael James, who has rushed for 971 yards and 11 touchdowns. James is suffering from a minor leg injury, but that won't keep him out of action against USC. Darron Thomas is the quarterback of the Ducks, and while he is often overshadowed by James, the signal caller has had a banner campaign. Thomas has completed 60.9 percent of his passes for 1,539 yards with 17 touchdowns against only five interceptions. Jeff Maehl is the top receiver for Oregon, as he has made 39 grabs for 530 yards and six scores. The Ducks are racking up 55.1 ppg and 569.1 total ypg.

The Ducks amassed 582 total yards and 32 first downs en route to eight offensive touchdowns against UCLA last week. James ran for 123 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries, while Thomas completed 23-of-31 passes for 308 yards and three scores. Maehl made eight catches for 107 yards and a score, while Remene Alston rushed for three touchdowns on just eight carries.

"Darren was really distributing the ball all over the place," said Kelly of his quarterback. "When we have receivers and Darren clicking like that, we are hard to stop."

Defensively, Oregon is limiting opponents to 15.9 ppg and 331.6 total ypg. The Ducks have been tough against the run, yielding a mere 3.4 yards per carry. They have been equally impressive against the pass, especially considering that they have already intercepted 13 balls. The 25 takeaways mustered by Oregon to date has been key to the team's success, and 19 sacks have helped the cause as well.

Oregon limited UCLA to 290 total yards and came up with three takeaways in that game. The Ducks were extremely tough against the run, holding the Bruins to 2.8 yards per rushing attempt. The pass defense was solid as well, yielding a lowly 6.9 yards per completion.

The USC offense figures to pose a much stiffer test than did UCLA. The Trojans are averaging 37.4 ppg and 494.0 total ypg, and Matt Barkley has quietly had a sensational season. Barkley has completed 65.4 percent of his passes for 1,869 yards and 20 touchdowns against four interceptions. Ronald Johnson leads the team with 39 catches and seven touchdowns, while Robert Woods is tops with 515 receiving yards. Allen Bradford paces the Trojan tailbacks with 560 yards and four scores.

In the romp over Cal two weeks ago, USC rolled up 32 first downs en route to 602 total yards. Barkley was nothing short of spectacular, passing for 352 yards and five touchdowns with zero interceptions. Woods made seven catches for 116 yards and two touchdowns, and Johnson reached the end zone twice as well.

On the defensive side of the ball, USC is yielding 24.3 ppg and 402.4 total ypg. Of the 21 touchdowns that the Trojans have allowed to opposing offenses, 15 have been passing scores. Opposing quarterbacks are averaging 13.2 yards per pass completion and 274.0 yards per game through the air against USC, which has come up with eight interceptions. Foes are moving the chains on 43 percent of their third down conversion attempts, a figure that needs to improve. T.J. McDonald leads USC with 49 total tackles and three interceptions.

USC permitted just 245 yards to Cal last time out, including only 52 rushing yards on 20 attempts. The Trojans intercepted two passes and limited the Golden Bears to 23:53 of possession time,

"It's really frustrating to be talked down," said USC defensive lineman Jurell Casey, on responding to the criticism directed toward the defense. "Every week we've tried to brush it off and play the game we know we can play. Today I think we played that game. The key things were to wrap up and tackle, and I think everyone was on the same page today."

There is no doubt that USC has the talent to beat Oregon, but expect Kelly to out-coach Kiffin, leading the Ducks to a narrow and thrilling victory. Both Thomas and James will shine under pressure.

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