Final: Oregon beats USC 42-27

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Halftime: Oregon 28, USC 14

It’s cold here at Autzen, but the offenses are playing plenty hot. Oregon has totaled 260 yards — 97 rushing, 163 passing — and has scored touchdowns on four of its five possessions.

While USC has found plenty of yardage through the air — the Trojans have 236 passing yards — they’re completely ineffective on the ground. USC has just 25 rushing yards, and its special teams play is completely taking it out of contention. The Trojans have kicked a ball off out of bounds, allowed a punt return for a touchdown and, on their final play of the half, missed a 27-yard field goal.

1:52, 2nd: The Ducks have capitalized on the USC turnover — in the oddest of ways. While Oregon’s 12-play, 56-yard, five-plus-minute scoring drive fell within the norm of the day, the finish did not: a 1-yard touchdown run from linebacker Bryce Boettcher. 

I wanted to see this (via cbscfb)

— CJ Fogler (@cjzero.bsky.social) 2025-11-22T22:25:39.472Z

It’s Oregon 28, USC 14 with 1:52 to go. 

7:48, 2nd: Massive moment from Oregon’s defense, as Ify Obidegwu comes up with an interception on 3rd-and-14.

9:58, 2nd: Oregon found the key to its receiving problem: take care of the scoring on special teams. After forcing a USC punt, Malik Benson took the return back 85 yards for a touchdown. It’s now Oregon 21, USC 14 with 9:58 to go in the second quarter.

USC boots a line drive punt to Oregon's Malik Benson and it does not go well for them. pic.twitter.com/RSQn2Fhs6F — Max Olson (@max_olson) November 22, 2025

12:42, 2nd: McClellan is back in the game for the Ducks, while Laloulu is still being worked on over on the sideline.

2nd quarter, 14:52: Quite the way for the Trojans to tie the game: on the first play of the second quarter, USC ran a WR pass that ended with Makai Lemon hitting Tanook Hines for a 24-yard leaping grab over an Oregon defender for the touchdown.

It’s Oregon 14, USC 14 here with 14:52 to go in the half.

End of first quarter: Oregon 14, USC 7

It’s nice to be back watching some classic Pac-12 action, where these two teams have combined for 266 total yards through the first quarter. Oregon has the 14-7 lead, but the Ducks have lost receiver Jeremiah McClellan and center Iapani Laloulu to injury. USC will begin the second quarter in Oregon territory.

1:31: Oregon throws the first haymaker. After stopping USC on its second drive, the Ducks got the ball back and used another 11-play scoring drive, this time going 67 yards while taking 4:32 off the clock. The drive was capped by an 8-yard touchdown pass from Dante Moore to Kenyon Sadiq.

The best QB-TE connection in college football strikes again to put the Ducks ahead!@dantemoore05 🤝 @KenyonSadiq #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/yFwL7cufg0 — Oregon Football (@oregonfootball) November 22, 2025

It’s 14-7 Oregon here with 1:31 to play in the first.

7:05: We got the makings of a track meet setting up here at Autzen Stadium. After USC’s opening touchdown, the Ducks responded with their own 6-play, 65-yard scoring drive — capped by an 11-yard touchdown rush from Jordon Davison. 

It’s 7-7 here between USC and Oregon with 7:05 to play in the first quarter

9:54: Well, USC made that look easy. The Trojans took the opening drive and went 75 yards over 11 plays, capped by an 8-yard touchdown pass from Jayden Maiava to Makai Lemon. USC converted three third downs on the drive. 

It’s 7-0 Trojans with 9:54 to play in the first quarter. 

***

History will suggest that USC is the dominant program here.

In 64 tries, the No. 15 Trojans have beaten the No. 7 Ducks 39 times over the 110 years of this rivalry — a span that also included 11 national championships for the team from SoCal.

But the last of those titles came in 2004, and the Ducks hold a 7-3 edge in the last 10 matchups — including a 31-24 win in the 2020 Pac-12 Championship Game. As the Trojans have fallen from national relevance, the Ducks have climbed. And much of that success can be attributed to an approach in the 2010s that prioritized beating the Trojans on the field — and in their own backyard.

When Mario Cristobal’s Ducks thumped USC 56-24 at the Coliseum in 2019, he did so with a roster loaded with players from the Los Angeles area. Kayvon Thibodeaux, the No. 1 player from California in the 2019 class, had a sack and a tackle for loss. Deommodore Lenoir, who went to high school 6 miles from USC’s campus, had an interception. And Mykael Wright, from California’s Antelope Valley, tied an Oregon record when he took a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown.

“We really want to make a tremendous investment in California and Southern Cal,” Cristobal said the prior July at Pac-12 media day in Hollywood. “We love the players from here. We want to make sure we litter our roster with players from Southern Cal.”

When the Ducks faced Wisconsin at the Rose Bowl to end that 2019 season, they showed up with more than 30 Californians on their roster.

“For us, this is a home state,” Cristobal said. “That’s what it is. We made it a priority.”

Oregon won that Rose Bowl. That offseason, it signed California’s top defensive recruit in Justin Flowe. The following season, it was Thibodeaux earning game MVP honors in Oregon’s conference-title win over the Trojans.

Five years later, things are different. It’s not that Dan Lanning’s Ducks don’t rely on California — Jordon Davison is leading the team in rushing, USC transfer Bear Alexander is clogging the run lanes and 26 total players from the state are on the roster — it’s that the Ducks haven’t had to think much about USC at all.

The Trojans have lost 23 games since that Pac-12 title matchup. The Ducks have lost 11 — while evolving into a recruiting, NIL and transfer-portal giant under Lanning following Cristobal’s departure in 2021.

And while Cristobal always leaned into the rivalry and the symbolism that came with beating USC, that angle didn’t seem to pique Lanning’s interest much this week.

“I wouldn’t say I feel a sense from any of those guys of that,” Lanning said when asked whether the Californians on the roster were any more excited for this one. “But it would probably be unfair to assume that they don’t. I’m sure it means a lot to these guys.”

Just like it’ll mean a lot to the handful of Washington natives next week against the Huskies — or when Oregon plays in any of the other 23 states and two international countries its recruiting footprint now covers.

Besides, it’s not the Ducks chasing the Trojans anymore.

In the lifetime of these players, they don’t remember those Reggie Bush/Matt Leinart teams. On Saturday, the Ducks are playing to keep alive their chance of a third trip in program history to the playoffs. USC has never been.

“Kind of a finesse, a skill school,” Oregon defensive back Theran Johnson said. “If you’re a receiver or a DB, that’s somewhere you want to be — but not necessarily as a hard-nosed, smash-mouth Big Ten team. But that’s years past. They’ve changed. They’ve grown. They’ve developed into a true Big Ten team. They can run the ball. They have a good running attack. Years past is years past.”

The Trojans are formidable. Lincoln Riley’s team has a typical top-10 offense, an accurate quarterback and some of the best receivers in the country. They’ve also improved defensively, dropping from 24.1 points per game last season (57th nationally) to 21.7 (41st) entering Saturday.

And while the Trojans have ceded ground to Oregon all the way up to the Coliseum’s walls the last two decades, both teams now have the same thing on the line.

A win keeps playoff hopes alive.

Here’s what you need to know before the game (and bookmark this page for live updates from Autzen Stadium).

📺 how to watch or listen 📻

When: 12:30 p.m. Pacific time, Nov. 22

Where: Autzen Stadium, Eugene, Oregon

TV Channel: CBS

Radio: KUGN-AM 590 and KUJZ 95.3 in Eugene 

who’s playing

Opponent: No. 15 USC (8-2, 6-1 Big Ten) 

Depth Chart/rosters: Oregon; USC

USC player to watch: Makai Lemon, receiver

The Ducks haven’t seen a receiver like Lemon since Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith at the Rose Bowl. So yes, this is a massive test for Oregon’s top-10 secondary.

Lemon has 71 receptions for 1,090 yards and eight touchdowns, including four games of 150-plus yards. He’ll go up and get it, and he’ll burn you with his speed — he’s also USC’s top option on kick returns.

“He accepts (contact) and he does a good job at contested catches even at his stature, his size,” Johnson said. “He’s 5-11, but they throw him jump balls like he’s 6-3 and he does a good job — he goes up and gets it. (We’ve) got to do a good job with man-to-man, going up and playing through hands.”

The change in challenge is drastic. Oregon’s last three opponents — Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin — rank 132nd, 129th and 136th nationally in explosive plays (20-plus yards), combining for just 73 this season.

USC ranks ninth with 61 on its own.

Lemon has 18 of those.

“He’s a dynamic player,” Lanning said, “and that’s certainly a challenge.”

Oregon player to watch: Bear Alexander, defensive tackle

The Trojans are going to get yards through the air. The key for Oregon will be limiting explosions and trying to improve upon its dismal, 132nd-ranked red-zone defense.

But part of what makes USC so effective is that it can run it, too — surpassing 200 rushing yards in five games this season. The Ducks can’t afford to get gashed both through the air and on the ground, which is why Alexander is so important in this one. Oregon’s 6-foot-3, 302-pound interior lineman has been a central piece of a run defense allowing just 108 yards per game.

And Alexander has added incentive: His rise at Oregon comes a year after transferring from USC.

“Bear deserves the credit for what he’s done. We’ve certainly coached Bear and he’s been super receptive and worked really hard to be the best version of himself,” Lanning said. “I think he’s come here and found the best version of himself. But he deserves the credit for what he’s helped with Coach (Tony) Tuioti, Coach (Tosh) Lupoi coaching him along the way. Taking that coaching and executing at a high level. We’ve always talked about ‘What do the reps look like? Not how many of the reps.’ I think Bear has recognized that and has made an impact on our team in a positive way.”

fit check

What to wear: Black

🔖 reads to get ready for the game 🔖

In case you missed any of our coverage earlier this week: 

Dante Moore sets record as Ducks roll Minnesota; ‘GameDay’ will be back in Eugene this week

No-row zone: The Oregon Ducks swamp Minnesota 

Altman trusts in his big three as Oregon heads to Vegas tournament

Learn more about USC: 

USC needs to take Oregon matchup personally

How USC’s transfer portal approach has fueled its push to edge of playoff berth

Lincoln Riley bet big on Jayden Maiava — and it’s paying off with USC in College Football Playoff contention

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This post will be updated throughout Saturday’s game.