A linebacker, a backup line and a body blow: Oregon drops USC

The Trojans were dejected.

As Oregon controlled the ball in the game’s final minutes, USC offensive linemen sat huddled on their bench beneath portable heaters. The temperature hovered just above 40, the skies were clear and so, too, was USC’s playoff picture.

No. 7 Oregon (10-1, 7-1 Big Ten) was putting the finishing touches on a 42-27 win — one that kept UO’s bid for a second consecutive postseason berth alive with a game to play, and all but officially eliminated its former Pac-12 rival.

Trojan heads alternated between hanging and peeking up at the clock as a game they believed was winnable ticked away.

There were the special teams miscues — a punt return touchdown by the Ducks and a chip-shot field goal off the goal post.

There were the turnovers — Oregon intercepted quarterback Jayden Maiava twice.

There was the running game — while the Trojans (8-3, 6-2 Big Ten) passed for 330 yards and four touchdowns, they averaged just 1.9 yards per carry.

There was also that damn linebacker rushing for a touchdown.

The Trojans knew they’d have to prepare for plenty of odd looks from a Ducks team that entered Saturday down several offensive linemen and even more receivers. The situation only worsened as receiver Jeremiah McClellan missed time with a shoulder injury, center Iapani Laloulu missed the second half, and redshirt freshman Fox Crader suddenly found himself protecting Dante Moore’s blindside after starting left tackle Isaiah World exited.

USC expected some of that. What they couldn’t have seen coming was this: Oregon lining up linebacker Bryce Boettcher in the backfield at the goal line with 1:52 left in the first half of a one-score game.

“Guys always talk about being ready for your opportunity,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning said. “There’s some guys that were ready for their opportunity when their number was called.”

Boettcher on alert

And boy was Boettcher ready.

The one-time walk-on baseball player who has become the pulse of this Oregon football team went to bed this week thinking about two things.

The first was stopping USC’s All-American receiver Makai Lemon.

“He was called the King Cobra,” Boettcher said of Lemon, who caught two touchdowns but was limited to 34 yards.

The second was dreaming about the ball in his hands.

Saturday was senior day at Autzen. Boettcher wanted a moment. And all week he campaigned for his first offensive touch since he played quarterback at South Eugene.

“He’s been asking for the ball all year,” Lanning said. “We worked it multiple times this week. Worked it again yesterday, worked it Thursday practice, Wednesday practice — it’s something we felt we might be able to carry.”

Oregon carried a 21-14 lead late into the second quarter thanks to an 11-yard Jordon Davison touchdown, an 8-yard Kenyon Sadiq touchdown and Malik Benson’s 85-yard punt return score.

And when the Trojans squandered a chance to tie the game after Ify Obidegwu picked off Maiava — and the Ducks marched back downfield — Lanning signaled for Boettcher to stay ready. A stalled drive ended with a missed 44-yard Atticus Sappington field goal, but USC’s leaping penalty gave new life. Two completions from Moore and an 8-yard Noah Whittington run later, Oregon had the ball on the goal line.

“Before Whittington, they were saying ‘alert,’ so I was there on the sideline ready to roll,” Boettcher said. “Obviously, I wanted Noah to get that touchdown, but when he didn’t, I was like, ‘OK, we got to call it right here.’ So I was excited for the opportunity.”

Boettcher lined up with Moore to his left, and tight end Zach Grace and (checks notes) defensive tackle Bear Alexander to his right. He took the direct snap, ran right and punched into the end zone to give Oregon a two-score lead.

“If we put the ball on the (other) 1-yard line, I’m going to go 99 to the house,” Boettcher said. “That’s my mentality. I think the last time I scored was probably the last time I played in high school.”

That was against Ashland. This was against USC – a team that came into Oregon with the best offense the Ducks have seen this year and with quite the carrot in front of them: A win against the Ducks wouldn’t just keep the Trojans in the playoff hunt, it would give them some critical momentum in a West Coast rivalry that’s been, more or less, shaded green since Pete Carroll joined the NFL. 

And the Ducks beat them with a backup left tackle, with only two wide receivers catching passes — Benson had four and McClellan had three — and with a 6-foot-2, 225-pound Houston Astros draft pick scoring more rushing touchdowns than USC managed all night.

He also managed 13 tackles while roaming the field at his day job. 

It was a convincing win for Oregon. It was a devastating loss for USC. And it happened in part because of a look the Ducks likely won’t roll out again next week with the season on the line against Washington.

“I love Bryce, but I love our backs, too,” Lanning said. “I’ll tell you this — he’s going to remind me that he’s 100 percent every time he carries the ball, we get a touchdown.

“You might see it again.”