The Oregon Ducks keep showing the world why they are real team to be reckoned with in college football? Their high-octane offense put up a total of 53 points on the USC Trojans last week at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, by winning their eighth straight game. (8-0, 4-0 in PAC-10 Conference. “Our team feels like they get stronger as the second half goes along,” said Oregon coach Chip Kelly, according to ESPN.com. “It’s great for this group of guys. There is no panic.”
The Ducks have beaten one of the most feared programs in all of college football and also one of the kings in the PAC-10 Conference. By winning against USC, is Oregon the real No.1 team in college football? Lamichael James, running back for the Ducks, trick-or-treated in the end zone by rushing for 239 yards and scored three touchdowns. His stats for 2010 are 170 carries, for 1,210 rushing with 14 touchdowns. Overall, James has 400 carries for 2,756 yards rushing and 28 touchdowns.
Darron Thomas, quarterbacks for the Ducks, had 288 yards passing and was 19 for 32 with four touchdowns, one interception, and a quarterback rating of 169.98. “It was a big-time game for us,” said Thomas, according to ESPN.com. “I don’t think Oregon had won in the Coliseum for so long, so it was one of those goals that we had put forward at the beginning of the season.”
The tempo was certainly in Oregon’s favor as they averaged touchdowns less than 1:48 going into this game. It was also the quickness of Thomas as the quarterback that made Oregon one of the most dangerous opponents to face, not only in conference play, but for any opponent who has them on their upcoming schedule. Oregon got a career-high 145 receiving yards and career-high three receiving touchdowns from Jeff Maehl. They have 53 points, the most the school has every scored against USC. Oregon had three touchdown drives that took two plays or fewer. USC played its first game against a team ranked No.1 in the AP Poll since it lost to Washington in 1992. The Ducks had a total of 599 total yards in this game: 288 passing, and 311 rushing.
USC quarterback, Matt Barkley, was 26 for 49, with 264 yards passing, one touchdown, and two interceptions. “You could feel the momentum on our sideline,” Barkley said, according to ESPN.com. “We (USC) had it, and we didn’t capitalize on it.” USC entered the Coliseum as an underdog for the first time in 51 games, since 2001. However, the Trojans had their heads down when the fans made the exits from the building, suffering a devastating defeat. Oregon has outscored their opponents 439-143, and they average 54.1 points per game. The Trojans are 5-3 and 2-3 in PAC-10. USC is just playing for pride at this point, with all the sanctions they have on their program. They don’t have to worry about playing a big-time bowl game this season, or next season. This college was so respected, but now it’s trying to regain its credibility.
“It all went down downhill from there,” USC coach Lane Kiffin said, according to ESPN.com. The game fell apart when the Trojans had a 17-15 lead, according to Kiffin, and had the ball in Oregon territory midway through the second quarter. Barkley fumbled a shotgun snap after getting distracted by Kiffin yelling from the sideline. On the next play, Maehl made a 45-yard touchdown catch, after the ball was tipped in the air and regrouped himself by making a one-handed grab. “That was me,” Kiffin added. “That was a coaching job,’’ according to ESPN.com.
With Oregon’s high-octane offense, it’s going to be extremely difficult to stop their scoring drives. Is there any team that can challenge this Oregon squad? We will find out.
