Instant Reactions to Oregon’s 36-27 win over USC
The Oregon Ducks won their ninth game of the season under the Saturday night, Autzen Stadium lights against the USC Trojans. The Ducks led for almost the entire game, but the Trojans did make a late push. With around five minutes left in the fourth quarter, Austin Jones scored a rushing TD, making the score 36-27. Lincoln Riley opted to go for the 2-point conversion, even though the PAT would’ve made it a one-score game. The Trojans didn’t convert, and the Ducks iced the game with a few first downs shortly after.
The thing that stood out most to me was how strong Oregon’s passing attack was. Bo Nix has led one of the nation’s best passing offenses all year, but his performance in this game was particularly special. The Oregon receiving corps was able to make plays in open space throughout the game.
Below are the rest of my instant reactions to Oregon’s win over USC.
Final Score - Oregon Ducks 36 - USC Trojans 27
The Oregon Ducks closed out the USC Trojans at home on the latest edition of Pac-12 After Dark.
Keys to the Game
Downfield coverage seemed to be the most important factor for Oregon on defense. In the first half, both of the Trojans’ scoring drives were highlighted by Caleb Williams’ deep balls. But, when the Ducks were able to maintain their downfield coverage, USC’s offense stalled.
Caleb Williams made some impressive deep throws, but Bo Nix’s long ball couldn’t be stopped. By the game’s end, Nix had completed 3 passes of more than 60 yards, 2 of which were touchdowns.
USC’s defense used a lot of zone coverage, and the Oregon WRs and TEs seemed to have no trouble finding the soft spots between the Trojans’ zones.
Oregon struggled to run the ball for most of the game, which was a surprise considering how much USC’s run defense has struggled in 2023. The Ducks were able to get the ground game going in the fourth quarter though as Bucky Irving passed the century mark and scored a touchdown.
The Ducks tackled securely all game long. Very few Trojans’ ball carriers were able to avoid the first tackler.
Top Performers
Bo Nix: 23/31 (74% completion rate), 412 yards, 4 TDs
Troy Franklin: 2 catches, 147 yards, 1 TD
Tez Johnson: 7 catches, 126 yards, 2 TDs
Evan Williams: 6 solo tackles, 3 assists, 1 sack, 1 PBU, 1 FF, 1 FR
Bucky Irving: 19 carries, 118 yards, 1 TD
Terrance Ferguson: 6 catches, 60 yards, 1 TD
Key Stats
Bo Nix only threw 8 passes in the first half. Three of them were TDs.
Oregon struggled to rush the ball early on and finished with a team yards per carry of 4.5, which is almost 2 yards fewer than the season average.
Oregon receivers combined for 298 yards after the catch.
The Ducks’ defense held Caleb Williams to a completion rate of 56%
Zachariah Branch, the Trojans’ prolific kick returner, was held to 8 yards per kick return and wasn’t able to return a punt.
Oregon’s penalty problem persisted in Week 11. The Ducks were penalized 13 times for 120 yards.
What's Next?
Next week, the Ducks will travel to Tempe, Arizona, for their final road game of the 2023 regular season. Arizona State has sat at the bottom of the conference for most of the year, but winning in Arizona is never an easy task. The week after Arizona State, Oregon will face off against Oregon State in the final Civil War matchup of the Pac-12 era.
