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Saturday night’s USC vs Oregon score was a good looking one for the Trojans, who got their fifth-straight win ahead of a tough trip to Washington next week.
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The lowdown: USC jumped out to an early 17-0 lead in the first quarter and would never look back. Ronald Jones led the way with a pair of early scoring runs, capping off touchdown drives of 60 and 56 yards, respectively, while Matt Boermeester opened the scoring with a 35-yard field goal
But the Trojans had trouble running up the middle at times against Oregon’s defense, which when coupled with an erratic Sam Darnold, turned into three-straight second quarter punts.
The Ducks would strike for the first time with a 25-yard end around by Charles Nelson, but never consistently strung successful drives together. USC added a score from Deontay Burnett before the break to go up 24-6 and hold off the would-be Oregon comeback.
In the second half, Jones was again the star, ripping off a 66-yard run to grow USC’s lead before Duck tight end Pharaoh Brown cut into the deficit by capping a methodical Oregon drive with a touchdown.
Two more scores from USC in succession — a short pass to Taylor McNamara on a drive led highlighted by Daniel Imatorbhebhe’s juggling catch for 37 yards then another touchdown dive from Jones — put the game out of reach.
The takeaway: There’s still plenty for the Trojans to work on, including an offense that struggled to finish off drives in the second quarter, and an overall sloppy game that led to double-digit penalties. But USC’s defense looked stellar once more, making a high-powered Oregon offense look ordinary, just a week after putting a hurt on Arizona State.
Player of the game: Ronald Jones had himself a doozy of a night for the second-straight game, finishing with 171 yards on 20 carries, along with four trips to the end zone. It was just his third time rushing for 100 yards, but comes off a career night against Cal in which he ran for 223 yards.
Stat of the game: Ronald Jones’s four rushing touchdowns tied a school record, mostly recently achieved by LenDale White against Arizona in 2005. He’s just the 14th Trojan to complete the feat.
Next on tap: After winning five-straight games against teams they were expected to beat, the Trojans will now travel to Seattle to face No. 4 Washington at Husky Stadium. USC hasn’t won in Montlake since 2007, but has plenty of momentum against potential playoff team UW.
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