Recap: U-S-C vs. Oregon
Sports Network | October 04, 2008
Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - Mark Sanchez threw a trio of touchdown passes in the second quarter, boosting ninth-ranked Southern California to a 44-10 win over No. 23 Oregon.
Sanchez connected on 19-of-28 passes for 332 yards and was picked off once as the Trojans (3-1, 1-1 Pac-10), who were stunned last Thursday at Oregon State, when they lost their No. 1 ranking.
C.J. Gable rushed 10 times for 49 yards and Stafon Johnson added a TD on the ground for the Trojans, who rolled up 598 yards of offense.
Jeremiah Masoli connected on 18-of-29 passes for 156 yards and was picked off once for the Ducks (4-2, 2-1), who beat Washington State by 49 points on the road last week.
The Ducks received the opening kickoff and drove 70 yards for a touchdown, with Jeremiah Johnson scoring on a one-yard run. Oregon converted a 4th-and-1 with a run and got another set of downs thanks to a fourth-down penalty on USC.
David Buehler kicked a 21-yard field goal later in the first quarter for the Trojans.
Sanchez fumbled the snap on the first play of the second quarter, giving the Ducks the ball at the USC 38. That led to a 24-yard field goal by Matt Evensen.
Sanchez redeemed himself, though, firing TD passes to Damian Williams, Ronald Johnson and Patrick Turner later in the second, ultimately giving the Trojans a commanding 27-10 lead at the break.
The first scoring strike came on a 34-yard connection to Williams, who was wide open on the left side of the field on fourth down and cruised to the end zone with 7:47 remaining in the half.
Two plays following an Oregon punt, Sanchez hooked up with Ronald Johnson on a 63-yard bomb, giving USC a 17-10 lead with 4:29 left in the second quarter. Johnson breezed by two defenders before catching the ball in stride on the way to the end zone.
Later in the quarter, the Trojans drove from their own four to the Oregon 19 before Buehler kicked a 36-yard field goal with 40 seconds to go in the half.
Two plays from scrimmage after the TD, Oregon wide receiver Jaison Williams was stripped of the ball on a catch and defensive back Josh Pinkard made the recovery, ultimately giving the Trojans the ball at the 11 after a Ducks penalty. On the very next play, Sanchez fired a pass to Turner on the left side at the goal line for another score, this one with 16 seconds showing on the clock for the 17-point halftime advantage.
Stafon Johnson scored on a 22-yard run early in the third and Buehler booted a 42-yard field goal later in the quarter as the Trojans were able to eat up most of the time.
Mitch Mustain threw a 59-yard TD pass to David Ausberry in the final two minutes of the game for the final margin.
The Ducks play home against UCLA next Saturday, while the Trojans host Arizona State...Craig Fertig, a former USC quarterback, assistant coach, athletic department administrator and football television analyst whose involvement with the Trojans spanned five decades, died this Saturday morning at the age of 66. He passed away due to kidney failure...U-S-C has won four of the last five meetings...Jeremiah Johnson had 13 carries for 45 yards...Joe McKnight was USC's leading receiver with five catches for 86 yards.
