Spring Break
USC gets quacked
Tori Hill
Issue date: 11/3/09 Section: Sports
Saturday night proved to be a great night for Oregonians. After watching the Beavers come out with a win over UCLA, I joined the majority of the state in tuning in to watch the Oregon Ducks embarrass the USC Trojans.
USC has been a long-time elite member of the Pac-10 when it comes to football. Under head coach Pete Carroll the team has not lost a game by more than a touchdown with the exception of a 2001 26-16 loss to Notre Dame in Carroll's first season. That is until Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009.
Saturday night's game was like watching a natural disaster for USC fans everywhere. Carroll's team gave up 613 yards to Oregon's offense, more yards than any team this season. Actually, this was more yards than any Trojan defensive squad has ever given up with the exception of the 1946 team, which surrendered 623 yards to one of the greatest Notre Dame offenses of all time.
As I watched the Oregon Ducks belittle one of the greatest programs in college football, I found it hard to imagine that this was the same team that, a mere two months ago, looked like a disaster in their attempts to make a first down against Boise State.
Oregon football has come a long way since that fateful day in September. Slowly, the team began to show its colors through their win against Purdue and then started to recover their fan base by beating Utah in a close contest, winning 31-24. The real turn for the better came when the Ducks blew out a then-ranked No. 6 Cal, defeating the Golden Bears 42-3. Since their victory over Cal, Oregon has seemed unstoppable.
For anyone who was still skeptical of the team's turnaround, the Ducks proved themselves on Saturday night. Autzen stadium was packed with a record attendance of 59,952 fans in the crowd. With kickoff not until 5 p.m., Eugene enjoyed a day full of ESPN College GameDay attention.
At halftime, the score was 24-17, and I was anticipating a much livelier USC team to come out and play the third quarter. Instead, Chip Kelly's Ducks emerged from the locker room to outscore the Trojans 17-3, and then rolled their momentum to the fourth quarter, holding USC without a fourth quarter score and winning the game 47-20.
USC has been a long-time elite member of the Pac-10 when it comes to football. Under head coach Pete Carroll the team has not lost a game by more than a touchdown with the exception of a 2001 26-16 loss to Notre Dame in Carroll's first season. That is until Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009.
Saturday night's game was like watching a natural disaster for USC fans everywhere. Carroll's team gave up 613 yards to Oregon's offense, more yards than any team this season. Actually, this was more yards than any Trojan defensive squad has ever given up with the exception of the 1946 team, which surrendered 623 yards to one of the greatest Notre Dame offenses of all time.
As I watched the Oregon Ducks belittle one of the greatest programs in college football, I found it hard to imagine that this was the same team that, a mere two months ago, looked like a disaster in their attempts to make a first down against Boise State.
Oregon football has come a long way since that fateful day in September. Slowly, the team began to show its colors through their win against Purdue and then started to recover their fan base by beating Utah in a close contest, winning 31-24. The real turn for the better came when the Ducks blew out a then-ranked No. 6 Cal, defeating the Golden Bears 42-3. Since their victory over Cal, Oregon has seemed unstoppable.
For anyone who was still skeptical of the team's turnaround, the Ducks proved themselves on Saturday night. Autzen stadium was packed with a record attendance of 59,952 fans in the crowd. With kickoff not until 5 p.m., Eugene enjoyed a day full of ESPN College GameDay attention.
At halftime, the score was 24-17, and I was anticipating a much livelier USC team to come out and play the third quarter. Instead, Chip Kelly's Ducks emerged from the locker room to outscore the Trojans 17-3, and then rolled their momentum to the fourth quarter, holding USC without a fourth quarter score and winning the game 47-20.
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