4 takeaways from No. 6 Oregon football’s 36-27 win over USC

Bo Nix passed for 412 yards and four touchdowns, Troy Franklin and Tez Johnson each had a touchdown and over 100 yards receiving, Bucky Irving had another 100-yard rushing game, and the No. 6 Oregon Ducks defeated USC at Autzen Stadium Saturday night, 36-27.

Nix was his usual efficient self, completing 23 of his 31 pass attempts and guiding the most efficient offense in the country to another strong win, helping the Ducks build up a big lead before a lackluster fourth quarter led to a late Trojan surge.

Irving had 118 yards on the ground with a score, Johnson had his second straight big game with seven catches for 126 yards and two scores, and Franklin became the first Duck receiver to eclipse 1,000 yards in a season since Dillon Mitchell in 2018 with two catches for 147 yards and a score.

On defense, the Ducks limited the Trojans offense for most of the game before a late rally. The Trojans’ Caleb Williams completed 19 of his 34 throws for 291 yards and a touchdown in a losing effort.

Here are four takeaways from yet another Ducks win.

Ducks’ front seven dominates

Though Williams got the best of the Ducks a few times – the reigning Heisman winner has done that to quite a few teams this season – Oregon’s front seven were dominant through the first three quarters in holding the electric Williams in check, mostly.

“I thought there were some really great moments,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning said. “We have a defensive line that can create havoc. We have some guys that are talented players. That was a good front, they have a good offensive line, but I thought our guys were able to create some havoc and mess up some of the timing there in the backend because they have some really talented wideouts.”

The Ducks recovered a fumble on a botched exchange and sacked Williams three times and pressured him throughout the night.

That, in part, helped the Ducks keep the Trojans well below their season average for yardage and points.

Penalties won’t go away

Now 10 games through the season the Ducks continue to struggle with penalties. A couple of costly ones helped the Trojans give Oregon a bit of a scare in the fourth quarter with 13 points in the final frame.

“I don’t know if anybody ever felt relaxed,” Lanning said. “I was disappointed a little bit with our finish, cause I think we’re a much better team than we showed down the stretch.”

Oregon committed 13 penalties in the win for 120 yards, nearly tripling USC’s penalty yardage. Though Lanning said he didn’t necessarily agree with some of the calls, and would have to go back and look at the film to access what his team needs to fix, he knows that number is way too high for a team that wants to compete for championships.

“At the end of the day, the amount of penalties we had was too much,” Lanning said. “We do different things at practice to try and attack it but we have to make a decision on how good do we really want to be. I think it hurts us. It didn’t kill us tonight but there were some critical ones in there that certainly didn’t help.”

Oregon offense shows versatility, again

Whether it was churning out long drives to finish the game and completely seize momentum, or striking early and quickly, Oregon’s offense showcased its versatility once again against a much-maligned Trojan defense.

The Ducks had scoring drives of two, three, and five plays, and of 13 and 12 plays throughout the game. Oregon’s drive to open the second half that put them up by two scores ate up nearly seven minutes of the clock before Williams and the USC offense saw the field in the second half.

“Obviously that’s the only way to keep them off the field,” Lanning said. “Having some long drives. It wasn’t necessarily by design, we want to look for opportunities to score quick, but that being said, we can play two different games: we can be an explosive offense that goes and scores quick, but we can also pound it down your throat and be able to take advantage of you from that front.”

That versatility and efficiency has been on display all season for the Ducks but was especially evident in one of Oregon’s more competitive games. When the Ducks wanted to strike quick, they did.

Nix connected with Johnson for a long score to open the game, and a drive later he found Franklin for an 84-yard score. The scoring drive after that, meanwhile, ate up six minutes and ended with a Nix connection to Terrance Ferguson.

These Ducks, as they have shown through each of their 10 games this season, can beat you in just about any way they want.

Ultimate goals in sight in November

With just two games left in the regular season, Oregon’s postseason picture is finally in sight. With two teams – the No. 6 Ducks and No. 5 Washington – ahead of the Pac-12, the Ducks could clinch a Pac-12 Championship Game berth next week.

With a win on the road against Arizona State, a Washington win over Oregon State, and a Utah win over Arizona, the Ducks would qualify for the Las Vegas date in December.

Saturday’s win against USC was just another step toward Oregon’s ultimate goal.

“We’ve got a mature group,” Lanning said. “They don’t let their highs get too high or their lows get too low. It’s pretty clear we have a pretty good team, but we can be even better. I’m excited to see where we’re headed next.”

Even if the Ducks win, and don’t get help elsewhere, it would set up for an ever-important matchup against rival Oregon State the following week that would send them to the conference title game regardless of what happens elsewhere.

Alec Dietz covers University of Oregon football, volleyball, women’s basketball and baseball for The Register-Guard. You may reach him at adietz@registerguard.com and you can follow him on Twitter @AlecDietz.