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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In a game with major BCS implications, two high-powered offenses collided for a Pac-12 divisional match-up. The No. 7 Oregon Ducks defied the odds and crushed their division rival, Stanford Cardinal, in a road game that would never be forgotten.It seemed as though Stanford had the Ducks figured out, limiting LaMichael James to few yards on his first seven carries.

But when he touched the ball for the eight time, the Heisman candidate running back found two holes in the Cardinal defense and took it in for a 58-yard touchdown, thus changing the tide of the game. James finished with 146 yards on 20 carries, and the Ducks never looked back. QB Darron Thomas had an incredible game, completing 11-of-17 passes for 155 yards and three touchdoowns; no interceptions.

He also broke the Stanford defense with a deep 18-yard designed QB run. This year’s undisputed No.1 overall draft pick, Andrew Luck hauled in 271 yards and two touchdowns, adding onto his campaign resume for the Heisman Trophy, but it would be his three interceptions that proved to be the difference maker in the game.

Following a fourth quarter Duck score, Luck threw a pick-six, essentially putting a surmountable lead out of reach. RB Stepfan Taylor ran for 99 yards on 23 carries, but he was held touchdown-less by the aggressive Oregon defense. While the Ducks’ defense managed to contain Luck, especially in the fourth quarter, the Oregon offense and their “Quack Attack” proved to be too much for the Stanford Cardinal to hold off.

With this win, the Ducks will re-enter their names into BCS Championship conversations, potentially  jumping up to a Top 4 slot, especially with No. 5 Boise State taking a loss. However, if they’re going to make their claim to fame, the Ducks must beat a very resilient, underrated USC Trijans squad next week. And that will be yet another exciting, high-scoring matchup.

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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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