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USC staves off No. 4 Oregon

USC freshman receiver Marqise Lee evades Oregon’s Troy Hill on one of his eight catches. (Associated Press)
USC freshman receiver Marqise Lee evades Oregon’s Troy Hill on one of his eight catches. (Associated Press)

EUGENE, Ore. – Matt Barkley was confident that No. 18 USC was headed for an upset all along, even when fourth-ranked Oregon mounted a comeback.

“We expected to shock everybody except ourselves,” he said after throwing for 323 yards and four touchdowns in a 38-35 victory over the Ducks on Saturday night.

The loss snapped a 21-game winning streak for Oregon (9-2, 7-1 Pac-12) at Autzen Stadium, the longest in the nation. It also stopped a 19-game winning streak in conference games.

But even more significantly, the loss derailed Oregon’s hope for a second consecutive berth in the BCS championship game. The Ducks were poised to move up in the BCS standings after No. 2 Oklahoma State lost to Iowa State 37-31on Friday night.

“I think this was a defining game for us,” Barkley said. “We set ourselves apart on both sides of the ball.”

Trailing 24-7 in the third quarter, Oregon launched a comeback and narrowed the margin to just three points, 38-35, on LaMichael James’ 1-yard touchdown run with 7:05 left in the fourth quarter.

Barkley led his team to the Oregon 15, but Marc Tyler fumbled and the ball was recovered by the Ducks with 2:54 to go. Oregon marched down the field, but Alejandro Maldondado’s 37-yard field-goal attempt, which was brought 5 yards closer because of a USC penalty, went wide left.

Afterward, Ducks’ fans stood stunned while the Trojans (9-2, 6-2) celebrated on the field. Once in the locker room, the team was so boisterous that they at times drowned out coach Lane Kiffin speaking to reporters.

The victory was huge for USC, which cannot play in the postseason because of NCAA sanctions.

“We needed this,” Barkley said.

Robert Woods, who was held out of some practices this week with ankle and shoulder injuries, caught seven passes for 53 yards and two scores. Freshman Marqise Lee caught eight passes for 187 yards and a score.

Darron Thomas threw for 265 yards and a score for Oregon, while Kenjon Barner ran for 123 yards and two touchdowns. The Ducks, ranked fifth in the nation with nearly 292 rushing yards per game, were held to 139 yards by USC’s defense.