USC vs Oregon: Who Were The Studs and Duds?

Nov 5, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Oregon Ducks quarterback Justin Herbert (10) is pressured by Southern California Trojans defensive end Porter Gustin (45) during a NCAA football game at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Who were the duds?

Yellow Flags:

It was difficult in the first half for anyone to get into a rhythm because of how often whistles blew, whether for penalties or clock updates.

USC was hit with 13 flags for 129 yards, including a pair of questionable holding penalties against Zach Banner and an even more frustrating offensive pass interference foul against Michael Pittman.

Not that the Ducks were immune to the Pac-12 refs whims. Oregon had seven penalties for 43 yards.

Oregon’s Offense:

The high-powered Ducks were anything but against USC. Part of that was the result of early sloppiness, with a number of pre-snap penalties setting Oregon back. However, credit also goes to the Trojan defense which limited the Ducks to 2.8 yards per carry and just 203 passing yards while tallying seven sacks on the night.

Impressively, USC held the Ducks to their lowest total yardage since the 2009 season.

The Freshmen Quarterbacks:

The big attraction coming into the night was the battle between the freshmen quarterbacks, Sam Darnold of USC and Justin Herbert of Oregon. Both QBs show flashes of the ability which has earned each rave reviews this year, but both also showed their youth.

More from Reign of Troy

• Markese Stepp enters transfer portal intending to leave USC football
• USC football’s Alijah Vera-Tucker declares for NFL Draft
• USC football adds Xavion Alford as transfer from Texas
• USC Podcast: RoT Radio Ep. 396 on the Football Season’s Fallout
• Talanoa Hufanga named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, USC football with five first-teamers

Herbert completed 54.5 percent of his passes with just 162 yards through the air on a night when the Oregon offense struggled to get going.

Darnold’s 28-of-40 stat line with 309 yards and two touchdowns may look impressive, but it was far from a perfect outing for the youngster who threw a potentially costly interception and struggled to hit the long ball with accuracy.

JuJu Smith-Schuster:

It was a particularly quiet night for Smith-Schuster, who had just two catches for ten yards. That’s well less than last year’s total of five catches for 57 yards — while the receiver had a broken hand.

The bad news is that it was another disappointing showing from a production standpoint for Smith-Schuster. The good news is that USC found contributions from elsewhere in the win.