There's no other way to put it. Oregon's football program unequivocally demolished longtime Pac-10 overlord USC 47 to 20 on Saturday, effectively putting the brakes on two major, likely never to be repeated feats the Trojans had accomplished.
USC's record streak of seven Pac-10 championships is likely done, as is its even more impressive run of never losing by more than 11 points in the Pete Carroll era (and never by more than seven points once things really got rolling in 2002).
The Ducks finished with a 27-point winning margin and it easily could have been more. It was a two-sided wholesale destruction few outside of Autzen could have reasonably anticipated given the nature of USC's run these last few years. As a USC guy I knew it had to happen eventually, but I was thinking something like a 14-point loss, something reasonable.
EUGENE, Ore.(AP) -- Jeremiah Masoli threw for 222 yards and a touchdown and ran for 164 more yards with another score and the No. 10 Oregon Ducks ran past No. 4 USC 47-20 for the Trojans' worst loss since 1997.
Redshirt freshman LaMichael James ran for 184 yards and a score as the Ducks (7-1, 5-0 Pacific-10) racked up 391 yards on the ground against the Trojans, who came into the game with the fifth-best rush defense in the nation, allowing an average of just 79.9 yards a game.
Southern California (6-2, 3-2) had not lost a game by more than a touchdown since a 27-16 loss to Notre Dame in 2001, Pete Carroll's first season as Trojans coach. It was USC's worst lost since a 35-7 defeat to Arizona State on Oct. 11, 1997 and the most points allowed by the Trojans in Carroll's tenure.
EUGENE, Ore. -- Greetings from Autzen Stadium, where just moments ago I was "looking live at Brent Musberger" as we rode up the elevator together. Brent is 70 years young and he hasn't lost an ounce of energy. It's funny. Earlier today ESPN Classic aired a replay of the 1983 NCAA basketball final (Houston-N.C. State), for which Musberger did the play-by-play (on CBS).
That was 26 years ago. And Brent is still getting the primetime gigs. I am an unabashed, unapologetic Musberger fan.
FanHouse writer John Walters is living in South Bend, Ind.during one of the most pivotal seasons in Notre Dame history.
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- USC beat Notre Dame. I get it.
The Trojans were the better team on October 17. There was no "Bush Push" chaos on the final play from scrimmage. In fact, USC made a do-or-die defensive stop after what might have been the game's last play or, as Pete Carroll said three days later at his Tuesday press conference, "It was nice to beat Notre Dame twice."
The game never seemed as close as one that hangs in the balance in the final seconds, even though it actually did. It never had the feel of 2005.
The Pac-10 has suspended one of its officials for failing to throw a flag on a facemasking penalty committed by USC safety Taylor Mays on Oregon State receiver James Rodgers, the latest in a long line of high-profile missed calls by college football officials this year.
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Observations and opinions on Saturday's USC-Notre Dame clash:
Sure, Notre Dame came close, but imagine how much better quarterback Matt Barkley will be 13 months from now in the Los Angeles Coliseum. By the way, listening to both Pete Carroll and Barkley speaking to the media after the game, it sounds as if the USC head coach has engineered his own Mini-Me.
Here is a portion of what Carroll had to say about Barkley, who after all did toss for 380 yards, is 5-0 as a starter and has won on the road in Columbus, Berkeley and South Bend: "Matt Barkley is really something,'' Carroll said. "The plays he's capable of making, there's no limit for him. He's just remarkable -- there's no other way to describe it. There's no one else to compare him to in our history. He's so poised, so comfortable in the arena. He has this great inner strength."
And you thought Charlie Weis had a man-crush on Jimmy Clausen ...
Update: You can check out the first BCS standings here.
The first BCS standings of 2009 will be released on Sunday afternoon, and everyone agrees that a pair of SEC teams, Florida and Alabama, will be the top two, followed by Texas at No. 3. But what comes after that?
The clock really did read "0:00" this time. Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen trudged slowly toward his teammates who were congregating in the northwest corner of Notre Dame Stadium. Clausen, still wearing his helmet, walked alone and allowed himself a singular, soul-cleansing, emphatic expletive.
After what he had just been through, the junior quarterback can be forgiven that audible.
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- He isn't going anywhere, and he shouldn't. The relentless ways of his Fighting Irish players down the stretch Saturday night at Notre Dame Stadium against Southern Cal bought Charlie Weis more time.
So here's the deal: Weis will last the rest of this season as Notre Dame coach. He also will return next season, and who knows? He might stick around with the Fighting Irish to finish his 10-year contract that expires after the 2015 season.
Whatever the case, there should be a moratorium on Weis bashing despite Notre Dame's 34-27 loss to Southern Cal in another huge game. That's because his players keep demanding as much. They could have collapsed in the final seconds against Michigan State, but they didn't. The same goes for their squeakers over Purdue and Washington that involved an extra dose of passion from everybody on the field.
Red. River. Rivalry. USC against Notre Dame. National title implications and plain old rivalry are at work in this great weekend for college football. Four of the game's biggest lightning rods headline the first two shifts. Oklahoma limps in but has a chance to regain its form in the face of recent losses to Texas and scuttle the Longhorns' championship dreams. Notre Dame's just looking for a big win, any big win, and what better trophy than rival USC which broke their heart in 2005 with the Bush Push?
There's other football to be played and to be discussed so please join us for FanHouse's college football chat. It'll commence at 3 PM Eastern while the Red River Rivalry is wrapping up. Chat application after the jump.
There's no other way to put it. Oregon's football program unequivocally demolished longtime Pac-10 overlord USC 47 to 20 on Saturday, effectively putting the brakes on two major, likely never to be repeated feats the Trojans had accomplished.
EUGENE, Ore.(AP) -- 
EUGENE, Ore. -- Greetings from Autzen Stadium, where just moments ago I was "looking live at Brent Musberger" as we rode up the elevator together. Brent is 70 years young and he hasn't lost an ounce of energy. It's funny. Earlier today ESPN Classic aired a replay of the 1983 NCAA basketball final (Houston-N.C. State), for which Musberger did the play-by-play (on CBS). 
FanHouse writer John Walters is living in South Bend, Ind.during one of the most pivotal seasons in Notre Dame history. 
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Observations and opinions on Saturday's USC-Notre Dame clash:
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Not again..jpg)
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- He isn't going anywhere, and he shouldn't. The relentless ways of his 
Red. River. Rivalry. USC against Notre Dame. National title implications and plain old rivalry are at work in this great weekend for college football. Four of the game's biggest lightning rods headline the first two shifts. Oklahoma limps in but has a chance to regain its form in the face of recent losses to Texas and scuttle the Longhorns' championship dreams. Notre Dame's just looking for a big win, any big win, and what better trophy than rival USC which broke their heart in 2005 with the Bush Push?
