Justin Herbert, No. 7 Oregon Dominate USC 56-24 as Kedon Slovis Struggles
No. 7 Oregon won its eighth consecutive game after beating host USC 56-24 on Saturday at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Oregon trailed 10-0 after the first quarter but used four second-quarter touchdowns to take a 28-17 halftime lead. The Ducks then scored four straight touchdowns in the second half to carve out a 56-17 edge before a late USC score.
Trojans quarterback Kedon Slovis threw for three touchdowns but managed just 4.6 yards per pass attempt and tossed three interceptions.
The Ducks, who lost their opener 27-21 to then-No. 16 Auburn before rolling off eight straight victories, are 6-0 in Pac-12 play. Oregon's magic number to clinch the Pac-12 North and earn a spot in the conference championship game is now two. Oregon State is the only team capable of surpassing the Ducks.
USC fell to 5-4 overall and 4-2 in Pac-12 play but is still squarely in the mix for a Pac-12 title game berth. The Trojans are one game back of the 5-1 Utes for first in the division and own the head-to-head tiebreaker thanks to a 30-23 win over Utah.
Notable Performances
Oregon QB Justin Herbert: 21-of-26, 225 passing yards, 3 TD, 1 INT; 4 carries, 8 rushing yards, 1 TD
Oregon WR Juwan Johnson: 7 receptions, 106 receiving yards, 3 TD
Oregon CB Mykael Wright: 100-yard kickoff return for TD
USC QB Kedon Slovis: 32-of-57, 264 passing yards, 3 TD, 3 INT
USC WR Michael Pittman Jr.: 8 receptions, 37 receiving yards, 1 TD
USC WR Tyler Vaughns: 8 receptions, 75 receiving yards
The Herbert-Johnson Duo Makes Oregon Pac-12's Best
The Ducks went into Los Angeles as just 3.5-point favorites, per Caesars Sportsbook, and trailed 10-0 entering the second quarter. A close game at best (or a USC rout at worst) seemed to be in the works.
But Oregon woke up and proceeded to go on a 56-7 run, which included a Brady Breeze pick-six, a Mykael Wright 100-yard kickoff return for a score, two rushing touchdowns and a scoring pass from backup signal-caller Tyler Shough to Mycah Pittman for good measure.
That run also included the game's most pleasant surprise for Oregon fans.
A strong connection between Justin Herbert and Juwan Johnson, who linked up for seven catches for 106 yards and three touchdowns, emerged to help Oregon earn the 32-point win.
Johnson, who transferred from Penn State, has played only three games after injuries curtailed the first half of his season. However, it's clear after Saturday that he can fill the void left by senior tight end Jacob Breeland, who is out for the season with a leg injury that he suffered in October.
Breeland, who is still the team's leading receiver even though he's missed the past three games, was a 6'5", 250-pound security blanket for Herbert. Johnson isn't quite as big (6'4", 231 pounds), but he's a tough matchup for any cornerback who has to defend him.
As for Oregon, any doubt that the Ducks are the Pac-12's best should be put to bed for now.
Sure, the Ducks had a few close calls against Washington (35-31) and Washington State (37-35), but they've beaten their other four Pac-12 opponents by an average of 24.75 points. Furthermore, the Ducks are this close to being undefeated, as they blew a 21-6 lead to Auburn and gave up a game-winning touchdown with nine seconds remaining.
No. 9 Utah seems to be the one team that could knock Oregon off its perch, but the Utes lost 30-23 to the same USC team Oregon just beat by 32. Perhaps you don't believe in the transitive property, but the Sagarin ratings also list the Ducks ninth compared to the Utes' No. 13 ranking.
Oregon has also been without Johnson for all but three games (including the Oregon loss), although the ex-Nittany Lion figures to be a mainstay in the pass-catching core for the rest of the year.
That's bad news for the rest of Oregon's Pac-12 opponents and whomever the Ducks face in their bowl game.
Tough Loss May Signal The End of Clay Helton Era
After USC's 32-point home loss to Oregon proved how far the Trojans are from being among the Pac-12's best, it may be difficult to put the Clay Helton era in perspective.
But that's important to remember, even if his time in Los Angeles could be coming to an end.
Helton took over the USC program after Steve Sarkisian took a leave of absence midway through the 2015 season before he was eventually fired. He lost his first game against No. 14 Notre Dame but then led USC to four straight wins, including a 42-24 victory over No. 3 Utah.
Helton led the Trojans to the Pac-12 title game that year, which they lost to Stanford. The following season, he guided them to a Pac-12 championship, Rose Bowl win and No. 3 finish in the Associated Press poll.
USC won another Pac-12 championship in 2017, but since then, everything that could go wrong basically has. The Trojans have gone only 10-11 over their past 21 games.
The Trojans finished 91st in scoring and 64th in scoring defense in 2018 en route to a 5-7 record, which was the first time USC went under .500 since the final year of the Paul Hackett era in 2000. It was only USC's third losing season since 1962.
This year hasn't gone much better, although USC is still in the Pac-12 title hunt.
The Trojans lost starting quarterback JT Daniels in the opener to a season-ending knee injury and went to third-stringer Matt Fink for a few games after backup Kedon Slovis suffered an injury versus Utah.
Fink led USC to an upset win over Utah, who is now ninth in the nation, and Slovis has done well heading into Saturday (13 touchdowns, five picks, 72.3 percent completion rate, 8.8 yards per attempt).
But the Trojans have faltered in big spots this year, struggling to score in a 28-14 defeat to Washington and being largely uncompetitive after halftime Saturday. They also lost 30-27 at home to unranked BYU, who entered Saturday with a 3-4 record.
Helton did a remarkable job through his first two-plus seasons, and he also coached during what Ryan Kartje of the Los Angeles Times calls three "tumultuous" years under ex-USC athletic director Lynn Swann.
However, the 32-point home blowout likely signals the inevitable:
Lindsey Thiry of ESPN put the Helton era in proper perspective:
Helton shouldn't be looked at as a failure on the USC sideline, but all signs seem to be pointing to his imminent firing after two tough seasons.
What's Next?
USC will visit Arizona State on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET. Oregon will enjoy a bye week before hosting Arizona on Saturday, Nov. 16.
