Oregon outlasts USC in shootout
BY GREG BEACHAM Associated Press
Sunday, November 04, 2012
11/04/12 at 5:36 AM
LOS ANGELES - Kenjon Barner rushed for a school-record 321 yards and five touchdowns, Marcus Mariota threw four TD passes, and No. 2 Oregon produced another landmark offensive performance in a 62-51 victory over No. 18 Southern California on Saturday night.
Josh Huff caught two touchdowns, and De'Anthony Thomas and Daryl Hawkins also caught scoring passes for the Ducks (9-0, 6-0 Pac-12), who outlasted USC in a back-and-forth second half to extend their winning streak to 12 games since the Trojans (6-3, 4-3) won in Eugene last season.
Oregon's 730 yards and 62 points were the most ever allowed by USC, which began playing football in 1888.
Barner set a rushing record for a USC opponent by the third quarter, topping Curtis Enis' 241 yards for Penn State in 1996, and smashed the school record shortly afterward as the Ducks gradually pulled away in their closest game of the year.
Matt Barkley passed for 484 yards and four touchdowns while hitting Marqise Lee with 12 passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns for the Trojans, who have lost two straight after a 6-1 start.
The preseason No. 1 team hit a defensive nadir not even matched during Pete Carroll's final season in 2009, when several opponents destroyed the Trojans' defense.
Barner has already roared past Barkley in the Heisman Trophy race, and the product of Riverside, Calif., thoroughly entertained his friends and family members at the Coliseum with another dominant ground performance.
Mariota also carved up the Trojans for 304 yards passing, going 20-for-23 without an interception and rushing for another 96 yards.
Oregon had won every game this season by at least 17 points. USC scored more points and gained more yards (615) than Oregon had allowed all year.
Late TD leads Alabama past LSU
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - T.J. Yeldon took a swing pass from A.J. McCarron and went 28 yards for a touchdown with 51 seconds remaining, giving top-ranked Alabama a stunning 21-17 victory over No. 5 LSU on a raucous Saturday night in Death Valley.
Associated Images:
Oregon running back Kenjon Barner breaks a tackle by Southern California cornerback Nickell Robey. BRET HARTMAN/Associated Press
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