Still Learning: USC Could Compete With Oregon. Finishing Was Another Matter.

By Jason Burrell | South Bay Black Journal

LOS ANGELES — Saturday morning, I wrote that USC was 4-0. But let’s not confuse an undefeated record with a football team that’s figured everything out.

Not yet.

Oregon came to the Coliseum with the kind of talent that can expose every missed assignment, every poor tackling angle and every mistake a young football team makes.

By the time the Ducks left with a 41-27 victory, USC had learned just how expensive those mistakes were.

The Trojans fought. They answered touchdowns, erased a 10-point deficit and tied the game in the fourth quarter. They gained 446 yards and finished with more first downs than Oregon.

THE FLIP SIDE

They converted only two of 11 third downs. The defense repeatedly found itself one play away from getting off the field, only to give Oregon another opportunity through undisciplined penalties that proved costly.

USC had enough to compete. It didn’t execute well enough to finish.

When Football Became Secondary

The afternoon changed in the second quarter when Oregon quarterback Dante Moore scrambled and began sliding. USC defender Desman Stephens II delivered a vicious shoulder hit, and as Moore slid, the Quarterback’s neck slammed into the turf, and Moore went down immediately and remained down while medical personnel attended to him.

The Coliseum grew quiet during a lengthy stoppage. Temper flared on both sides of the ball for Oregon. Nobody wants to see their quarterback take a vicious hit as he did, and for the Trojans it was an embarrassing scene as Desmond Stephens Celebrated and gestured with his arms out and shoulder shrug as if it was no big deal.

From a football standpoint, after coaching for over 17 years and covering the college and professional game for more than 16 years, I get it!  There is a game inside of the game. If you can knock your opponent’s best player out of the game, there is a competitive advantage to gain.  But for Desmond to celebrate and make it obvious, that’s what makes it look dirty!

Football is physical! Everybody who puts on a helmet understands that. But there is a human being inside it, and the sight of Moore’s leg shaking and him receiving medical attention was a reminder that the people playing this game matter more than the outcome. 

This morning, Stephens would issue an apology for his actions: “I want to sincerely apologize for my actions during yesterday’s game. Seeing a player injured like that is incredibly serious, and my reaction in the moments afterward was completely inappropriate and inexcusable; Regardless of what was going through my mind at the time, there is no justification for smiling or celebrating while another player receives medical attention.” 

Regarding his actions after knocking Moore out unconscious, “I take full responsibility for my actions. That is not the person or teammate I want to be, and I will learn from this,” said Stephens. “ I am deeply sorry to Dante, his family, and everyone who saw my reaction; It is not representative of USC or our program. I hope he makes a full and speedy recovery.” 

Without allowing the Big Ten Conference to render a decision, the University itself has suspended Desmond Stephens II for one game as a result of his conduct during Saturday’s game. He will not participate in USC’s upcoming game against Washington on Oct. 3.

Oregon coach Dan Lanning said the Ducks gathered and prayed for Moore’s health and for their own composure.

“What’s the best way to honor Dante in that moment?” Lanning recalled asking himself.

His message to the players was to channel their emotion into the game, between the whistles.

Riley opened his own postgame remarks by wishing Moore a speedy recovery.

“These are all people at the end of the day on both sides,” he said. 

However, upon further review, Riley said this morning, “Desman’s actions in last night’s game are unacceptable and are not reflective of USC Football nor of his personal character. He understands his mistake, accepts the consequences of his actions, and will learn from this. The entire Trojan Family wishes Dante a full recovery, and we send our best regards to him and his family.”

Lanning reported that Moore was moving and receiving care, but declined to speculate further about his condition.

Then Oregon had to play football again.

Dylan Raiola, the transfer from Nebraska, entered at quarterback and completed a three-yard touchdown pass to finish a nine-play, 75-yard drive. Oregon led 10-7.

Raiola didn’t know his number would be called. According to Lanning, he had spent the week texting his coach about details he noticed in press conferences and on film, preparing as though he would play.

Preparation is Separating

Raiola finished 19-of-25 for 289 yards and two touchdowns. He didn’t simply keep Oregon afloat. He led them to victory.

“He was ready for his moment,” Lanning said.

USC’s First-Half Fight

USC’s young defense had its share of problems in the first half, but it also made two stands that kept the game close.

The Trojans forced Oregon to settle for a 30-yard field goal in the first quarter. Later, despite allowing a third-and-13 conversion and committing a costly holding penalty, they held the Ducks near the goal line. Oregon kicked a 19-yard field goal just before halftime.

Those were meaningful plays. Instead of touchdowns, Oregon took three points.

Offensively, Jayden Maiava was in rhythm, throwing a dime over the shoulder of the Ducks defender for a 31-yard touchdown pass to Kayden Dixon-Wyatt. King Miller later broke a 27-yard run to help set up a field-goal opportunity.

Caden Chittenden had missed from 33 yards earlier, but returned to make a 38-yarder that tied the game at 10.

Oregon led 13-10 at halftime, but USC had given itself a chance.

Oregon Came Out Finishing

The first-half goal-line stand gave the Trojans some momentum. Oregon took it away in four plays.

On the Ducks’ opening possession of the third quarter, Raiola connected with Dierre Hill Jr. for 62 yards. Hill later scored on a one-yard run, putting Oregon ahead 20-10.

Maiava answered with a nine-play, 75-yard drive, finishing it himself on a one-yard touchdown run off a convincing play fake.

USC was back within three.

But Oregon kept turning critical downs into explosive plays.

On third-and-nine, Raiola found tight end Jamari Johnson for 34 yards.

On third-and-two, Hill caught a pass and gained 28 more, setting up his four-yard touchdown run.

Oregon 27, USC 17.

The Trojans didn’t fold. Chittenden made a 29-yard field goal, and Maiava followed with another 75-yard touchdown drive. He connected with Tanook Hines from 11 yards out to tie the game at 27 with 12:41 remaining.

The Coliseum was rocking

USC had fought back from 10 points down. The offense had found a rhythm. The young Trojans had put themselves in position to do more than simply make the afternoon competitive.

They had an opportunity to take control.

One More Chance. Then Another.

This is where the game became painful for USC.

Oregon faced third-and-15. Raiola threw an incomplete pass. The Trojans had the stop they needed, or so it appeared.

A roughing-the-passer penalty extended the possession.

Later, on third-and-eight, Dakorien Moore beat the coverage on a double-move slant-and-go for a 29-yard touchdown.

Oregon 34, USC 27.

USC’s next drive stalled. Facing fourth-and-seven with 7:15 remaining, Riley kept his offense on the field. Maiava’s pass fell incomplete, and Oregon took over on downs.

Riley said afterward that the decision was supported strongly by the team’s analytics and by his own assessment of the game. USC needed to extend the possession and would need a defensive stop either way.

The Trojans had another opportunity to make that stop. Oregon faced fourth-and-three.

The Ducks converted.

That was the afternoon in a nutshell. USC worked to create the down it wanted. Oregon made the play that mattered.

The Ducks went on to extend their lead to 41-27.

Riley pointed to the same sequence when I asked him what separates a team capable of competing in a game like this from one mature enough to finish it.

“I think it’s finishing the key plays at the end of these games,” he said.

DEVASTATING DUCKS— Oregon star quarterback Dante Moore is carried into the ambulance by the Ducks medical staff after suffering a vicious illegal hit by USC linebacker Desman Stephens II on Saturday Sept. 26 at the Coliseum. Stephens was suspended by the Trojans the following day from the team. (JACKSON BURRELL/PHOTO)

He described two teams trading punches and USC finally reaching the moment it had worked toward all night: a chance to stop Oregon, get the ball back and let an offense that had found its rhythm go to work.

“We put ourselves in position to win,” Riley said.

But he also acknowledged that giving a good team another set of downs makes winning considerably harder. He refused to place the entire loss on the defense, saying every part of the team shared responsibility.

That’s fair, but his coaches have to do a better job making sure the mistakes that keep happening in the secondary stop happening!

The offense had opportunities it didn’t finish, too. USC gained 446 yards and recorded 26 first downs, yet converted only two of 11 third downs. Oregon gained 504 yards, converted six of 12 third downs, and went two-for-two on fourth down.

The difference wasn’t that one team could move the football and the other couldn’t.

It was what happened when a possession reached its most important play.

What Learning Really Looks Like

Lanning said Oregon had been thinking about which team could outlast the other. After Moore’s injury, he saw players who were emotional but composed, and a backup quarterback who was prepared to execute.

The Ducks didn’t play a perfect game. They had penalties, settled for first-half field goals and allowed USC to come all the way back.

But when the game demanded an answer, they delivered one.

USC is still working toward that standard.

Christian Pierce pointed to communication problems in the secondary when asked about Johnson’s production. Riley cited missed tackles, explosive plays, and failures on critical downs. Neither offered a shortcut to fixing them.

Riley’s answer was to return to work.

I believe there’s something worth building with this USC team. Maiava threw for 326 yards and two touchdowns and added a rushing score. Dixon-Wyatt caught seven passes for 114 yards. Miller ran for 74. The Trojans fought their way back into a game that could have gotten away from them much earlier.

Their effort deserves recognition, but they don’t hang recognition trophies up in Heritage Hall!

LOOKING FOR AN ANSWER–USC quarterback Jayden Maiava stands in shotgun formation against Oregon at Coliseum on Sept. 26 as the Trojans lost their first game in resounding fashion to the Ducks 41-27. (JACKSON BURRELL/PHOTO)

To beat a team like Oregon, you can’t keep shooting yourself in the foot. USC didn’t lack fight Saturday. Too often, its own errors stood between that fight and the result it wanted.

That’s the difficult part of growing up in football. You can do enough to earn an opportunity and still fail to finish it.

The Trojans were 4-0 when the afternoon began. They’re 4-1 now.

And the lesson isn’t that USC cannot compete with a team like Oregon. The Trojans showed that they can.

The lesson is that competing gets you to the moment. Finishing is what you do when you get there.