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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Turnovers was the name of the game as the No. 8 Oregon Ducks forced three Washington turnovers in their 34-17 road win Sunday night.

LaMichael James had yet another star-studded performance, rushing for 156 yards and a touchdown—his most since his 239-yard explosion vs. California in early October. Freshman De’Anthony Thomas and Kenjon Barner also put in a touchdown apiece, but it was Eddie Pleasant, Oregon’s senior Safety, who picked off quarterback Keith Price twice and, ultimately, put the Ducks in a winning situation.

“This is a big time win for us,” said James. “Coming into this atmosphere, hostile crowd, they wanted to win.” Oregon’s Darr0n Thomas passed for 169 yards and a touchdown, completing 13-of-29 attempts and hitting five different receivers. But the easiest part is over.

Next week, Oregon faces Andrew Luck and conference rival, No. 4 Stanford Cardinal. They’ll be sure to have their hands full, as Luck will spread the Duck defense further than they can handle. If the Ducks can summon the strength to overcome their Pac-12 rival, they might find themselves in the running for a BCS bid later on in the season.

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Despite the Ducks being down both star RB LaMichael James and QB Darron Thomas — essentially the crutch of the Oregon offense — the team, short-handed and all, managed to completely dismantle the Colorado Buffaloes Saturday afternoon.

Led by junior RB Kenjon Barner and backup QB Bryan Bennett, the Ducks high-octane offense lit up the Colorado defense for five touchdowns and carried Oregon to a 45-2 road win over the Buffaloes. Barner picked the Buffaloes defense apart on the ground, rushing for 115 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries.

Freshman Tra Carson also made the most of some touches, hauling in 80 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. When it came to the passing game, variety was definitely the spice of the Oregon air attack. Bennett hit eight different receivers, completing 11 out of 20 pass attempts for 156 yards and two touchdowns.

Star freshman De’Anthony Thomas had yet another stellar performance, rushing for 50 yards on four rushes, and finishing with two receptions for 18 yards and a touchdown. As for the Buffaloes, the only highlight of their day was a safety in the third quarter. The Ducks held the Colorado offense scoreless the entire game, allowing only 133 passing yards and 133 yards on the ground.

They even forced a pick-six in the second quarter when LB Michael Clay picked off Tyler Hansen for a 32-yard defensive touchdown. Oregon (6-1) looks forward to yet another blowout victory at home when they face off against Washington State next week.

As for Colorado (1-7), their future doesn’t seem any brighter, as they’ll be facing off against a 5-2 Arizona State team next week, followed by a date with the powerhouse USC Trojans the week after.

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