He made critical mistakes.
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The Trojans’ pass rushers couldn’t corral the slippery Adams, and their cover men had trouble staying with Oregon’s receivers.
The USC Trojans travel to Eugene, Ore.to face the Ducks Saturday afternoon. Kessler hooked up with receiver Darreus Rogers on the next play for a touchdown to tie things up. Quarterback Cody Kessler couldn’t handle a low shotgun snap from center Khaliel Rodgers. The USC offensive line allows about 2.5 sacks per game so Buckner may have his opportunities.
Series record: USC leads 37-19-2.
USC committed 12 penalties for 124 yards, and four were false starts.
Running the ball successful will take Kessler out of those 3rd and longs on the road in a hostile environment. USC has bounced back nicely since then, winning four games in a row, but, with three loses on their resume, have been no threat to make the Playoff since early October. That was until the Trojans lacked discipline and committed a costly personal foul on 3 and short at the OR 26, backing USC up into a punt.
OR can’t dwell on what might have been this season, had quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. been healthy from the start. The Ducks scored 24 consecutive points before and after halftime to take a 38-14 lead.
Since returning, Adams has led the Ducks to victories over Washington, Arizona State, California and Stanford. The Ducks defense capitalized on the momentum and stepped up for another stop giving the offense back the ball ready to put the game away. With the way Wazzu has played of late I can’t say I am really that surprised, but those who have not been keeping up with the Cougs this year may have choked on their coffee looking at the final results of that game. The USC defense looked like it was playing its first game of the season, wondering where the Idaho Vandals were when they needed them most.
MI will close out the season with wins over Penn State (7-3), Ohio State (10-0) and a Big Ten Championship win over Iowa.
On to the Civil War.
Prediction: After last weekend, it’s becoming apparent that no team wants to win the Pac-12, but then again, it’s been the theme of this college football season.
If USC defeats the Bruins, it plays in the Pac-12 title game the following week and could eventually advance to the Rose Bowl.
The total for Saturday’s game is 71.5 points.
This game could decide who plays in the Pac-12 Championship game as the victor of the Pac-12 North. If Stanford wins, they win the North. Utah has already played Cal this year and missed Stanford. They have not been the same team since losing star LB Mychal Kendricks at the beginning of the year and often displayed erratic play under QB Josh Rosen. But the overall streakiness of the Pac-12 makes its title race one of most wide-open of its kind over the next few weeks.
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Tucker looks to be the likely candidate to replace Smith, who tore a knee ligament in the first half against the Buffaloes last week, but played another 18 snaps after suffering the injury. Interim coach Clay Helton said the Trojans expect to use four inside linebackers against the Ducks, but wouldn’t reveal details. Charles Nelson has been one of the most impressive Ducks this whole season.
