Less than a year after being blown to smithereens by Vernon Adams in Eugene, USC got their revenge with a near total shutdown of Oregon at the Coliseum, in what wound up being a 45-20 win.
The Trojans’ first-team defense allowed just 13 points, and the Ducks’ previously 9th-ranked offense in S&P+ had just two drives spanning longer than 36 yards.
“One of the things Coach Pendergast does an unbelievable job of is focusing on taking away the strength of a team,” Helton said. “To stop [Oregon] in the run game to 85 yards and 2.8 per carry is just a tremendous effort by our defense.