No. 12 USC football falls to No. 20 Oregon as defense unravels in 2nd half

LOS ANGELES — A peculiar choice after winning the coin toss. A lack of sportsmanship after a brutal hit. Allowing four methodical second-half touchdown drives to a backup quarterback and keeping the offense on the field, leading to a game-sealing turnover on downs.

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Lincoln Riley’s USC football team, everybody.

Riley promised his fifth year in Southern California would be different. That after matching its rivals’ name, image, and likeness war chest, USC’s ‘Time Is: Now.’ With Riley at the helm, USC’s glitz and glamor hasn’t faded. The Hollywood mystique remains intact.

But the results, the College Football Playoff aspirations, were left somewhere on a plane ride from Norman, Okla., to LAX. No. 12 USC’s 41-27 loss to No. 20 Oregon on Saturday at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum matched so many of the letdown performances USC (4-1) has had throughout the last five seasons, in which the Trojans are the less physical team and Riley the less savvy coach.

Instead, it was Oregon (3-1) rallying after it lost superstar quarterback Dante Moore early in the second quarter. Backup quarterback Dylan Raiola stepped in, dicing apart Gary Patterson’s defense for 289 yards and two touchdowns, completing 19-of-25 passes.

To his credit, Riley’s been the quarterback whisperer that he was advertised as Jayden Maiava threw for 326 yards and two touchdowns. Wide receiver Kayden Dixon-Wyatt continued to step up in fellow freshman Trent Mosley’s absence with a team-high 114 receiving yards and a touchdown.

While Mosley was out, Oregon’s top pass catcher Jeremiah Johnson emerged off the injury report to catch seven passes for 119 yards, and running back Dierre Hill Jr. combined 105 receiving yards with 63 rushing yards to provide a safety valve for Raiola.

Despite the anticipation of Saturday’s matchup, neither side seemed worthy of taking the first punch as the game sputtered throughout the first quarter. Then Desman Stephens introduced himself.

With 10:06 remaining in the second quarter, on a second-and-9 from the USC 23-yard line, Oregon quarterback Dante Moore took off, racing beyond the first-down marker, before giving himself up with a slide. As he went to the ground, defenseless, Stephens lowered his shoulder to Moore’s head and neck area, delivering a blow.

Moore’s slide was abrupt, but Stephens had adequate time to adjust the power of his hit. More so, his response in the aftermath was problematic. After the hit, Oregon’s players pushed Stephens around in protection of their quarterback, and as the gravity of the moment settled with Moore laying motionless on the ground, Stephens was seen celebrating the hit.

Moore ultimately exited the stadium after being transferred from a stretcher into an ambulance. The NBC broadcast confirmed he had movement in his extremities while he was tended to at nearby L.A. General Hospital.

The situation seemed to inspire Oregon. Two plays after Moore exited, Raiola connected with Evan Stewart for a 3-yard touchdown.

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In fact, both offenses woke up, trading field-goal drives before the half, and coming out firing after the break.

Raiola settled in, leading Oregon 75 yards for a touchdown. He got help from running back Dierre Hill Jr., who took a screen 62 yards before rushing in for an 8-yard score on the following play.

Hill’s touchdown capped a drive that was essentially free for Oregon because Riley opted to receive the ball after USC won the coin toss, allowing the Ducks to end the first half and begin the second with the ball.

Maiava answered Raiola, completing his next four passes and capping off a 65-yard march by keeping the ball for a 1-yard rushing touchdown.

After Hill continued to gash USC, turning another short completion into a 28-yard touchdown, Maiava led USC on a game-tying drive, rolling out of the pocket to find Tanook Hines for a touchdown.

But Raiola remained unfazed, leading the Ducks on a 10-play drive. The Ducks benefited from USC committing a roughing the passer penalty on a third-and-15 at the 40-yard line. They capitalized when wide receiver Dakorien Moore broke free on a chair route and Raiola hit him near the pylon to restore a 7-point lead.

With the offense’s firing, Riley opted to keep USC’s offense on the field on the following possession as it faced a fourth-and-7 from its own 49-yard line. Maiava targeted Zacharyus Williams across the middle and Oregon’s Brandon Finney Jr. stepped in front to break it up.

Oregon took advantage of the short field, rushing the ball into the gut of USC’s defense on five of the next seven plays until Hill broke the plane on a two-yard touchdown.

With Hill’s score sealing USC’s fate and Riley’s third loss in three tries against Oregon, Trojans fans began to file out of the Coliseum, providing another reminder of a staple of Riley’s tenure.

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Empty seats and empty promises.

More to come on this story.