The first quarter wasn’t pretty at all for USC. It was deja vu. Like Groundhog Day, the Trojans seemed to be reliving their dramatic implosion last week against Oregon State.
The Oregon Ducks started out just like the Beavers did, driving down the field for a score the first time they touched the ball.
And just like last week, the Trojans gifted the Ducks with a couple of personal fouls. That allowed Oregon State to take down the three points they scored from a field goal and put up seven points instead.
With Mark Sanchez tossing the ball and C.J. Gable and Stafon Johnson running, the Trojans got down to the Oregon 4-yard line but had to settle for a 21-yard David Buehler field goal.
A fumbled snap between Kris O’Dowd and Sanchez led to a matching 24-yard Matt Evenson field goal for the Ducks to give them a 10-3 early second-quarter lead.
But from that point on, it was all Trojans. Suddenly, the Ducks were committing personal fouls and turnovers as USC exploded with 24 unanswered points before halftime.
Sanchez hit Damian Williams for a 34-yard TD, capping an eight-play, 67-yard drive.
On their next possession, it took Sanchez and the Trojans only two plays to go 80 yards with Ronald Johnson breaking into the clear and grabbing a 63-yard TD pass.
That gave USC their first lead, 17-10, in five quarters.
David Buehler’s 36-yard field goal preceded a Josh Pinkard fumble recovery and an 11-yard TD pass from Sanchez to senior wide receiver Patrick Turner to end the first half with the Trojans up 27-10.
USC remained in control throughout the second half. They started off with a seven-play, 74-yard drive. Stafon Johnson capped it off with a daunting 22-yard cut back run for the score.
Later in the third quarter, David Buehler added his second field goal. This one, from 42 yards out, put USC up 37-10.
Mitch Mustain took over for Sanchez, who tweaked his left knee when he was sacked late in the third quarter. Mustain hooked up with David Ausberry on a 59-yard catch and run to end the scoring with 41 unanswered points and a 44-10 victory.
Oregon was unable to move the ball against a tough USC defense that was without its All-American linebacker, Rey Maualuga, who suffered a sprained knee against Oregon State. The Trojans held them to 242 total yards, while the USC offense racked up an 597 yards.
The defense only allowed 63 yards rushing on 39 attempts.
Sanchez completed 19-of-28 for 332 yards with three TDs and no interceptions. Mustain was 5-of-8 for 111 yards and a TD and an interception.
Joe McKnight was the leading receiver with five catches for 86 yards. Patrick Turner also had five catches for 77 yards, and Ronald Johnson picked up 78 yards on two catches.
C.J. Gable led all USC rushers with 49 yards on 10 carries. Stafon Johnson racked up 43 yards on seven carries including his 22-yard TD run.
After the game, Sanchez said his knee should be fine. Commenting on the Trojans’ performance, Sanchez said, "We sure came out with some fire in the second quarter. We came back from that game last week."
3 comments Last one added 9 months ago — Leave a Comment
Dave Nemetz 9 months ago
Great re-cap. Unfortunately I missed most the game, but I knew I could count on Peszko to describe the highlights in vivid detail. Glad to see the Trojans back on track.
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Paul Peszko 9 months ago
Thanks for your comment, Dave. Don't worry about missing most of the game. Last week, the Trojans missed most of their game.
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a.a. rozell 9 months ago
I was disappointed that ESPN went to the other game when Sanchez got hurt. In our area we would like to have seen how Mitch Mustain did under pressure.It sounds like he did O.K. even without our watching. I do not understand why ESPN does that, even on other games I have been watching they do that.
I am very glad USC showed us they can play with the best teams. I would like to see USC play the Sooners or Bama or Texas ,I would think it would be worth watching. A.A.
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