PAC 12 Championship Game Recap

USC and Washington were supposed to play for the PAC 12 Championship but a Covid outbreak in the Huskies program opened the door for Oregon to play for the conference title. USC was undefeated and came back to win late in the fourth quarter in three of their five wins, but on Friday night the Trojan’s luck finally ran out.

The Trojans had 358 yards of offense against Oregon’s 243 but trailed the entire game. In fact, USC was never closer than the seven point margin they lost the game by. A few times this year USC has won games they easily could have lost and probably should have lost, on Friday Oregon turned the tables, making the key plays and avoiding the costly mistakes to win a game their offense did not play well in.

Oregon’s defense made the big plays

Oregon’s offense may not have played particularly well (108 passing yards and 135 rushing yards), but their defense made several big plays. They set the offense up with short fields and made critical stops to keep USC from tying the game late. Several players made key contributions for Oregon and helped secure the Ducks second straight PAC 12 Championship.

The first big play came on USC’s first drive of the game. On the first drive of the game and just the third play of the game, USC faced third and ten at their own 35. Kedon Slovis attempted a pass toward the right sideline near the first down, but Oregon’s Deommodore Lenoir had excellent coverage and jumped the route to make the interception. He weaved down the field and returned the interception to the USC 19. A USC facemask penalty added on to the return and set the Ducks up inside the ten for their first possession. Three plays later, Oregon scored a touchdown and took a 7 – 0 lead.

The two teams traded punts before the Oregon defense made another game changing play. USC picked up a first down then on second and eight at USC’s 20, Kedon Slovis forced the ball into coverage and Oregon’s Jamal Hill made him pay with another interception that set Oregon up at the USC 32. Again it took three plays for Oregon to turn the turnover into a touchdown and take a 14 – 0 lead.

In the second quarter, Oregon held USC to a three and out forcing a punt from the USC three yard line. The Ducks appeared to get a hand on the punt and the ball rolled to a stop at the USC 41. For the third time in the first half Oregon took over on the plus side of the 50, again they made it count. Four plays later the Ducks scored their third touchdown of the game and stretched their lead to 21 – 7.

The Oregon defense made another critical play late in the third quarter. USC had just scored a field goal to cut the lead to 28 – 17 and then recovered a surprise onside kick. The Trojans had some momentum after the big special teams play, but the Oregon defense came up big again. The Ducks forces two incomplete passes and then Kayvon Thibodeaux sacked Kedon Slovis to steal back any momentum the Trojans had built.

Finally, with Oregon holding onto a 31 – 24 lead and the Trojans driving late in the fourth quarter, the Ducks defense came up big one more time to seal the win. USC had moved the ball to the Oregon 38. On second and eight, Kedon Slovis was pressured and scrambled out of the pocket to his right. Slovis attempted to throw the ball away but left it too close to the sideline, allowing Oregon’s Jamal Hill to make an unreal interception where he just dragged his toe long enough to make the catch in-bounds. The interception ended USC’s last legitimate chance to comeback and tie the game and secured the win for Oregon.

Oregon’s defense had a strong season outside of one game and has become a strength of the team during Mario Cristobal’s tenure. That defense paved the way for a PAC 12 Championship in 2020.

USC’s costly mistakes

USC gained yards in the game and played solid defense, but made several costly mistakes that contributed to the loss. Three of the plays stand out because they were easily avoidable and proved to be critical down the stretch.

The first came early in the fourth quarter. With a little over 14 minutes left in the game, USC forced Oregon to punt the ball. Oregon punted the ball to USC, but inexplicably USC’s Talano Hufanga tackled the Oregon punter, drawing an unnecessary roughness penalty. The penalty extended the drive for Oregon, allowing the Ducks to pick up three more points and run over three more minutes off the clock. The Trojans were down 28 – 17 at the time and needed to preserve as much time as they could on the clock. The penalty cost the Trojans time and points, making their comeback bid that much more difficult.

Late in the fourth quarter, USC was trailing 31 – 24 and moving the ball. Slovis threw a perfect deep ball down the right sideline to Bru McCoy who had a step on his defender. The pass arched over the defense and dropped into the bread basket, but somehow slipped through McCoy’s hands and fell harmlessly to the ground. If McCoy had been able to make the catch, USC would have had first and goal inside the ten yard line, instead they continued to drive down the field methodically until they made their third big miscue.

That third miscue came on Jamal Hill’s second interception of the game. When Kedon Slovis scrambled out of the pocket and attempted to throw the ball away, he threw the ball too close to the sideline and Hill was able to make the key interception. Slovis was under pressure but had time and space to throw the ball away, he just didn’t throw it far enough out of bounds. Often times it wouldn’t matter how close to the sideline the ball is thrown when it is thrown out of bounds, but on this occasion Hill made the play and the mistake by Slovis cost the Trojan’s their best chance at tying the game.

Impact going forward

Oregon has won back to back PAC 12 Championships under Mario Cristobal and is establishing themselves as the premier program in the PAC 12. The Ducks had several key players opt out this year and were replacing a first round draft pick at quarterback. They were more vulnerable than they may be in the next couple years, but were able to win the conference and maintain their positive momentum from 2019. Cristobal has recruited very well and Oregon should be the favorite to win the PAC 12 again in 2021.

USC has struggled the past few seasons, but had an opportunity to finish the season undefeated and potentially be in the Playoff discussion with a win. The loss undoes some of the good they did this year and brings back into focus the close calls USC survived during the season. Narrative is everything in college football, with a win Friday night USC would have been remembered as the resilient conference champion. Because they lost, the story will be how the Trojan’s luck finally ran out. Clay Helton and company will need a big 2021 season to prove they are back near the top of the Pac 12 to stay.

Oregon Ducks Pac 12 Champs Gear

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Duck Football Season Opener Image taken by David Geitgey Sierralupe is licensed under CC BY 2.0.