Our crystal ball shone brightly Saturday as the Oregon Ducks flew into a 13-0 lead over the mighty Southern California football legions.  Then the Oregon coaching staff lost its nerve to settle for a field goal on a fourth and one and kicker Paul Martinez muffed the attempt.  There went the aggressive attitude that put the Webfeet ahead.  SC shook off its opening shock and resumed its third straight run at a national championship, forging a 32-point victory while blanking the home team for the balance of the contest.

Oregon coaches crafted a fine game plan for both offense and defense, but then lost their grip and their minions stumbled into foolish penalties that nullified some fine scoring opportunities.  A personal foul wiped out a Terrence Whitehead rushing TD that would have given the Ducks a 17-0 second quarter lead.  An illegal block took away another apparent Oregon TD in the second half.

The Autzen Stadium crowd did its loudest best and contributed mightily to Trojan miscues prior to halftime.  However, the home team's failure to hold its lead restored SC to what we rate as one of the finest teams in American college grid history.  Troy QB Matt Leinart regained his Heisman status with pinpoint passing and his rushing mate Reggie Bush bounced all his twisting way back to his own 2005 Heisman bid.  

Oregon did find some weakness in the SC defense which upcoming Trojan foes may exploit, starting with an explosive Arizona State this week.   The Ducks, meanwhile, must reflect on the mental mistakes shown by both coaches and players and regain what could still be a promising season.

Next up for Oregon, a woebegone Stanford squad that lost Saturday to Division 1AA Cal Davis.  Oregon State followed its humiliating rout at Louisville with a one sided loss at home to Arizona State, and we expect the Beaver decline to continue with Washington State bringing its undefeated status to Corvallis.

The Pac10 is making a strong claim to date as the nation's strongest conference in 2005.  California and UCLA have shown top 20 national bids to date.  Washington, Arizona and OSU are justifying this forecaster's preseason judgment.

© 2005 Oregon Magazine