First Half LiveBlog: USC at Oregon

USC at Oregon | 1st Half | 2nd Half

It's a Fox Sports Weekend, if you are a Pac Ten fan, as four of the five conference games are being broadcast on the NewsCorp-owned cable networks, bookended by the USC Trojans' visit to Autzen Stadium and the traditional 10:15 PM Eastern Pac Ten Game of the Week between undefeated Arizona State and former contender Cal Berkeley.

Today's matchup pits the nation's second-best offense against the third best defense in the country and features two one-loss, top-ten teams. The winner controls their destiny. The loser starts to think about how many more ganes they'd have to lose to go to the Hawaii Bowl instead of the Sun Bowl.

Vitals, TV Info and Pregame Notes after the jump . . .
Vitals

- (9) Southern California @ (5) Oregon
- TV 3:00 Eastern, Fox Sports Prime Ticket
- Oregon is favored by 3 points.
- This is USC's sixth visit to Autzen in the last eight meetings.
- USC starts redshirt sophomore Mark Sanchez at quarterback for the third straight week.
- The last two times USC was an underdog, they shut out Auburn 23-0 and UCLA 27-0.
- Petros Papadakis calling a USC game is more annoying than Dan Fouts announcing a Ducks game.

* * * * *

12:06 - It's almost kickoff, and the ducks are taking the field in their bloack jerseys and green pants. The Trojans will be in their traditional white and gold away uniforms. As for me, I am at my Sunset Strip-adjacent apartment and just broke out the lucky half dollar I got as change from buying a bratwurst last week in South Bend. My buddy says that Pete Carroll looks a little stressed.

12:07 - Pete is a little less stressed after the Ducks fumble on the kickoff. Finally Brad Walker does something to redeem himself for the Rose Bowl fumble by recovering this one.

12:09 - Chilo Rachal returns to the offensive line, and gets a personal foul on second down, making it third and 20. Joe McKnight gains about 18 on a screen...and Big Balls Pete decides to go for it. McKnight is stopped on a reverse. Oregon ball. Really bad playcalling there when Sanchez could have gotten three yards easy on a sneak.

12:16 - Oregon quarterback Dennis Dixon is proving elusive, but USC seems to be taking away the pass downfield so far rather than trying to contain the run... Oregon makes it to midfield and has to punt...

12:30 - Apparently Billiards is the new ballroom dancing. That's the lone class that Oregon QB Dennis Dixon is taking this semester...

12:35 - Touchdown Oregon. USC's defensive line looked like Nebraska's for just a second as Dixon fakes a handoff and runs the draw, while Rey Maualuga over-persues...

12:39 - Third and one... What does USC call? Chauncey Washington up the middle. This time it works, though...

12:40 - Joe McKnight runs 65 yards on a Reggie Bush-like play, but it gets called back for holding. Second quarter...

12:47 - Right after the break, USC punts and recovers a muff. Special teams for the Ducks aren't looking so special today.

12:51 - USC fails to punch it in after getting a first and goal, settling for a field goal. Ducks 7 - Trojans 3.

12:59 - Oregon takes the ball downfield on the big play but gets stopped in the red zone and must go for it on Fourth and short...and the Trojan defense stops the Ducks. Score one for Sedrick Ellis.

1:20 - Oregon gets into the red zone in the two-minute drill but has to settle for a field goal. At the half it's Oregon 10 - USC 3. See you at the second-half liveblog for a barn-burner.