Southern California linebacker Anthony Sarao (56) and Southern…
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Nov 21, 2015; Eugene, OR, US; Oregon Ducks defensive back Arrion Springs (1) and defensive lineman Henry Mondeaux (92) tackles USC Trojans running back Justin Davis (22) at Autzen Stadium.
While #23 OR and #24 USC haven’t had the seasons that many had expected, they both are in the hunt for a few hardware in the Pac-12.
“I was a big USC fan growing up, being from that area”, said the senior, who even has an interlocking S and C tattooed on his arm.
“It’s an awesome feeling”, Adams said. Adams’s six touchdowns against the Trojans’ secondary was the most USC has ever surrendered. Who knows? If the Trojans win the next two games, they go to the Rose Bowl and this debacle might be glossed over.
“Honestly, I was trying to get everyone”, he said with a smile.
The Ducks moved to 8-3 overall and 6-2 in Pac-12 play, and their league losses to Utah and Washington State seem like distant memories, although the defeats kept them out of national prominence. Oregon RB Royce Freeman leads the nation in rushes of 10 yards or more with 47….
“Go Bears!” defensive end DeForest Buckner said.
But it wasn’t to be. The victor will represent the Pac-12 South in the conference championship game.
The Trojans (7-4, 5-3) will need to play much better against the Bruins.
But at about the same time, UCLA defeated No. 18 Utah 17-9 in Salt Lake City. They are extremely dynamic on offense with Cody Kessler under center and JuJu Smith-Schuster on the outside and have the talent in the front seven to disrupt Oregon’s offense. “It’s on all of us”.
A Southern California native, Adams was intercepted in the end zone on Oregon’s first possession of the game, but he hit Bralon Addison with a 48-yard touchdown pass on the next one. The Ducks scored on the first play from scrimmage on the ensuing drive on Evan Baylis’ 52-yard catch from Adams.
Kessler’s 12-yard TD pass to Tyler Petite evened it again. But the Trojans got a scare in the second quarter when receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster left the game after a non-contact injury.
Kessler just missed Smith-Schuster on a play, the receiver with a taped left ankle just missing snaring the deep catch. OR is clearly a different team with Adams, a senior transfer from Eastern Washington who has thrown 12 touchdown passes over the last four games and causes defenses major headaches with his scrambling ability.
OR pulled back ahead on Adams’ 37-yard scoring pass to Darren Carrington, then padded the lead with a 30-yard TD pass to Kani Benoit. The Ducks closed out the first half with Aidan Schneider’s 37-yard field goal for a 31-14 lead. USC forced a 14-14 tie, but Oregon’s 17-point run just before halftime sealed the visitors’ fate. The Ducks have given up the second most touchdown passes in the country with 31.
Adams still has two more games to play as a collegian and it will be interesting to see how much he comes along in that time. “He’s not as rushed and he’s making his throws”.
The lowdown: From jump, the Ducks offense was firing on all cylinders in the passing game and the Trojans never could find an answer to stop it. Vernon Adams had four touchdown passes in the first half alone, while USC struggled to find consistency on the offense despite a pair of methodical touchdown drives early on. Adams was 9-for-10 for 224 yards and four scores on first down, a remarkable performance that sparked the offense and ignited a roaring crowd of over 59,000 at the home field. Since Helton took over for Sarkisian USC has been ideal in conference play.
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“We had the opportunity to get Vernon down a couple times and just didn’t get him on the ground”, Helton said “There’s only so long you can stay in man coverage and stay on those types of athletes for that long”.
