USC vs. Oregon score, takeaways:
The journey to get there was wildly unconventional, but Oregon captured its second straight Pac-12 championship on Friday night by withstanding one other late rally from USC to win 31-24. USC entered 5-0 with a trio of last-minute victories to its credit, however the Trojans may by no means fairly climb out of an early 14-0 gap, despite another late comeback effort.
USC had the soccer trailing by seven late in the fourth quarter, however Kedon Slovis’ third interception of the night time proved to be a costly one. Because the USC quarterback scrambled out of the pocket to evade strain with less than three minutes left, he made an ill-advised throw down the sideline in Oregon territory instead of just throwing the football away. The tried heroics backfired when Oregon’s Jamal Hill managed to control the ball and tap his toes for an interception after bobbling the soccer initially.
Then, with Boston College transfer Anthony Brown in at quarterback, Oregon got a first down, which allowed the Geese to run the clock down underneath a minute before putting it again to USC. But the Trojans’ last-gasp effort with no timeouts yielded no results.
This was the conference title matchup that was predicted within the league’s preseason media ballot. But Oregon was not truly supposed to be here. Rather, Washington (3-1) was supposed to signify the Pac-12 North within the title sport. However, second-place Oregon got the nod when the Huskies encountered COVID-19 issues that prevented them from playing.
The Geese rose to No. 9 within the AP High 25 ballot throughout a 3-0 begin earlier than consecutive losses to Oregon State and Cal in current weeks ended their probabilities of making any noise on the nationwide scene. Nonetheless, Oregon appeared to have put the woes of these defeats far up to now because it got here out blazing on Friday. The Geese picked off Slovis twice within the first quarter to arrange a pair of touchdowns because the Geese took a 14-0 lead.
Although USC battled again inside a landing 3 times, the Trojans may by no means get any nearer. After an abbreviated season of late-game heroics, their clutch magic lastly ran out.
Ducks’ depth at QB a factor
Brown had not performed within the Geese’ first 5 video games getting into Friday night time, but he entered and tried his first move in an enormous second within the first quarter. Cornerback Deommodore Lenoir set Oregon up inside USC’s 10-yard-line with an interception on USC’s first sequence. The Geese confronted a third-and-goal when Brown checked in for beginning quarterback Tyler Shough and hit Jaylon Redd for a landing to place Oregon up 7-0. Brown additionally threw a brief landing move within the third quarter to place Oregon up 28-14, capping a 14-play drive. Although Brown tried just 4 passes compared to Shough’s 15, his presence as a second quarterback in the game was efficient and one thing the Trojans had not seen on tape.
It wasn’t the one time an Oregon backup quarterback made an influence. Cale Millen, a redshirt freshman who just isn’t listed as one of many Geese’ high three quarterbacks, performed on particular groups and made a sort out in kickoff protection in the course of the second quarter.
Thibodeaux shines
Oregon sophomore defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux won the game’s MVP award. He came up big late in the third quarter after USC recovered an onside kick while trailing 28-17. It appeared the Trojans had stolen the game’s momentum with the daring particular groups play. However then Thibodeaux sacked Slovis for a nine-yard loss on third down to power a USC punt and swing management of the sport again in Oregon’s favor. Thibodeaux completed with 5 complete tackles and likewise had a move breakup while consistently getting strain in Slovis’ face. He will be a major factor in 2021 and among the high defensive players in the nation.
Read also-UFC 256: How to watch Figueiredo-Moreno, start time, live stream on ESPN+
