Oregon Football: Ducks Make Statement In Win at USC
On a weekend where there were no Big Ten teams to shift the narrative, Oregon Football went to Los Angeles and made a statement.
It was a simple statement for a one-loss team. We belong.
Whether the sentiment is heard or not is up to the College Football Playoff Committee which begins their weekly meetings on Tuesday. While Oregon Football still has a lot of work to do, winning their games for the rest of the season will go a long way into deciding their course after the first of the year.
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With Ohio State and Penn State having a bye week, the national audience got a glimpse of the Pac-12 Conference throughout the afternoon and evening on Saturday. Washington lost to Utah and despite a slow start, Oregon came around to defeat the USC Trojans 56-24 despite emotion getting the best of several players an over 120 yards in penalties.
Of course, the Playoff Committee will look at the Ducks body of work this season and see some rather intriguing numbers. Oregon has won 11 of their last 12 games going back to last season. The Ducks have now won their 15th game as a Top 10 team over the last few seasons. While the Offense has been impressive, the Defense has been better.
Oregon now as a +13 turnover ratio after picking off USC three times and as a unit they have an interception in 15 of their last 18 games. While Troy Dye is the heart of the defense for the Ducks and the known name, others have stepped into larger roles including Verone McKinley III, Deommodore Lenoir, and Jevon Holland.
Offensively, the Ducks have gotten the job done with an injured Wide Receiver corps that was led by a big weapon in Juwan Johnson on Saturday. He accounted for three touchdowns against USC and looked the part of being fully healthy after a nagging ankle injury that kept him off the field for the better part of the first two-thirds of the season.
Oregon now has the second bye week of the season, which means next week, the Big Ten and others will again take over the narrative, but the win at USC should resonate, along with the body of work. The Ducks return home to Autzen Stadium in two weeks to face Arizona. Gametime has not yet been announced.