Dante Moore threw for 257 yards and two touchdowns, and No. 7 Oregon strengthened its College Football Playoff hopes with a 42-27 win over No. 15 USC on Saturday.
Kenyon Sadiq caught six passes for 72 yards and two scores, while Noah Whittington added 104 yards and a touchdown for the Ducks (10-1, 7-1 Big Ten), who remained unbeaten at home and improved their chances of hosting a postseason game.
Oregon overcame the added spotlight of senior night, national rankings implications and ESPN’s “College GameDay” on campus.
“I kept telling the team it was going to be an emotional game,” Moore said. “But you can’t let emotions take over. We pushed ourselves Monday through Friday to get the result we wanted.”
Jayden Maiava threw for 306 yards and three touchdowns for USC (8-3, 6-2, No. 15 CFP), connecting twice with Makai Lemon, who also threw a touchdown pass. But the Trojans again stumbled on the road against a ranked opponent and have not won in Eugene since 2011.
Oregon pulled away with Sadiq’s second touchdown late in the third quarter and Whittington’s 9-yard scoring run that sealed it. Oregon's Dan Lanning praised his team by saying, “They hit some big plays on us, but our guys kept resetting.”
The Ducks now turn to a pivotal showdown at Washington, while USC aims for its ninth win next week against UCLA.
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