Upset seemed to be the theme this week as No. 2 Oklahoma State fell to unranked Iowa State, No. 5 Oklahoma was taken out by No. 22 Baylor, and the No. 7 Clemson Tigers were dropped off by an unranked NC State squad. And as much as Oregon fought USC to not join the group of upset Top 10 teams, it was of no avail.

The No. 4 Oregon Ducks suffered a 38-35 loss at the hands of the USC Trojans, in what was an exciting, fight-to-the-finish showdown, Saturday night. By the third quarter, the Trojans had taken a 38-14 lead and looked to be cruising to victory. But the Ducks never gave up. Freshman De’Anthony Thomas ran a 96-yard kick return in for a score, and the tide shifted into Oregon’s favor.

Though LaMichael James couldn’t get it going with only 78 yards on 20 carries, backup RB Kenjon Barner picked up his slack, especially in the fourth quarter, rushing for 123 yards and two touchdowns on only 15 carries.

QB Darron Thomas also got it rolling, completing 23-of-35 pass attempts for 265 yards and a touchdown, but USC was able to shut down Oregon’s offense early, preventing them from getting the hot start that they needed.

USC QB Matt Barkley absolutely dismantled the Ducks’ defense, passing for 323 yards and four touchdowns, while completing 26-of-34 attempts. And his favorite target? The true freshman, Marquise Lee, who hauled in 187 and a touchdown on eight receptions; over 23 yards per reception. Barkley also hit WR Robert Woods seven times for two touchdowns.

The spotlight was on Oregon freshman, De’Anthony Thomas, who had verbally committed to USC before changing his mind and officially committing to the Ducks. Along with his kick return TD, he was also on the receiving end of a 29-yard touchdown pass.

For Oregon, hopes of a rematch against No. 1 LSU in the BCS Championship Game have been spoiled, and at 9-2 they MUST win next week’s rivalry game against Oregon State in order to maintain home field advantage in the Pac-12 Championship Game. The Trojans, however, are still feeling the results of the Reggie Bush scandal, and were banned from all bowl games after being found guilty of paying Bush to attend their school.

Their win over Oregon was beautiful, but it may have been in vain.

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A look of anguish and despair was spread across the student section of the Alabama Crimson Tide crowd. The LSU Tigers were in range for an overtime, game-winning field goal, and their kicker was not about to miss the biggest kick of his career.

In a late night showdown with strong BCS implications, defense was prominent and touchdowns were scarce. Actually, there were no touchdowns, only field goal attempts, misses and makes. In the biggest game of each team’s season, the coaches each banked on one player — or in Alabama’s case, two — the kicker, and LSU’s kicker came out victorious last night.

While RB Trent Richardson, a surefire Heisman trophy candidate, came out of the gates with two electrifying plays, LSU’s stingy defense held him to just 89 yards on 23 carries; no touchdowns. And it would be Bama’s defense that held Jarrett Lee and Jordan Jefferson, two established LSU QB’s, to a menial 91 combined passing yards and two interceptions; no touchdowns.

The two offenses struggled all night to put points on the board, but in the end it would be Special Teams that made or broke each team. And LSU’s special teams more than crippled the Crimson Tide.

Alabama failed to capitalize on several opportunities to take the lead by failing to knock down field goals. Their so-called distance kicker, Cade Foster, missed field goals from 52, 50 and 44, and their close-range kicker, Jeremy Shelly, had his low 49-yard attempt blocked. While they weren’t easy kicks, Foster wasn’t even close on any of his attempts, missing wide right almost every time.

That’s where LSU Kicker, David Alleman, reigned supreme. Alleman missed not a single kick, hitting all three of his attempts, including the overtime try that solidified the Tigers as the best team in college football.

When all is said and done, this was a game for the ages, but do we really want a rematch?

With all of the hype that was built up on the No. 1 vs. No. 1 showdown, the offenses definitely failed to excite. While it’s true that defense wins championships, it is offense that gets the crowds riled up and creates undying buzz for the team. Sure, A.J. McCarron threw for 199 yards, and sure LSU had 149 combined rushing yards, but no one got into the endzone.

Do these two teams really deserve to bore the fans again with a rematch at the BCS championship? Leave a comment and sound off, but this writer would rather see a potent Boise State offense take on a dominant LSU defense.

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