USC beats Oregon 38 - 35. Autzen is shocked.

Did you feel it?  It was going to be a cold night with a raucous crowd, much like the USC - ND game in South Bend earlier this year, and you know how that ended up.  At the time, the win over ND was considered an upset, with most people and Las Vegas picking Notre Dame.  Well, it happened again on a cold night in front of another raucous crowd.

USC dominated for 3 quarters, let no one doubt this.  But Oregon nearly came back and tied the game at the end of regulation, except for a failed field goal with the clock showing 00:00.  Perhaps that fourth quarter fade was in part because Dion Bailey was hobbled on an apparent ankle sprain in the 4th quarter.  Or because USC fumbled the ball away on Oregon's 8 yard line, allowing Oregon to make one last drive.  Credit USC's defense though, that they were able to slow down Oregon enough and force an attempted game-tying field goal.  In years past, it would have been a complete collapse of the USC defense giving way to an Oregon touchdown.

This was not last year's defense....no 3rd and forever turned into a first down for the Ducks.  In fact, USC's defensive line looked a lot like Auburn's in the BCS NC game, when the tackles were able to get into the back field and disrupt Oregon's option decision making.

It's been a long time since Oregon lost in Autzen Stadium...September 20, 2008 to Boise State.  And the last time Oregon lost in the conference was November 7, 2009, to Stanford.  In both cases, Oregon rallied to make the game close and failed to win the game late in the fourth quarter.

In all three of these games, Oregon had more yards on offense (most of it coming in the 4th quarter) and much less time of possession than their opponents.

So can we stop the Kiffin bashing now?  Oh, I know Tennessee fans wanted nothing more than to trash Kiffin and wish him ill willl, but he's done nothing but show that he can coach and win.

USC's playing true / rs freshmen all over the field, including all three linebacker spots, while looking awfully sharp for a young team.  If Barkley does come back, he'll have the Serra duo of Robert Woods and Marqise Lee, and the sure favorite to make it to the BCS NC game next year.

Last item.  Matt Barkley threw for 323 yards with 4 touchdowns and 1 interception.  For the year he's got 3105 yards throwing, 33 TDs and 7 INTs.  Against the Ducks in Autzen, was that his Heisman moment?