Trojans' aspirations get crushed in error-prone road loss to the Ducks

The last time he made it here, to the doorstep of the College Football Playoff, Lincoln Riley could only watch as USC's hopes slipped away with a single hamstring pull.

- BY RYAN KARTJE

DIERRE HILL JR., stiff-arms Christian Pierce as the Ducks rolled up 436 yards of offense against a previously stout Trojans defense.

(TOM HAUCH Getty Images)

Without its Heisman-winning quarterback healthy, USC fell painfully short, forced to wonder what could have been.

It took Riley nearly three years - and plenty of ups and downs - to return to that same place, only this time to have the door slammed shut by No. 7 Oregon in a 42-27 loss that all but eliminated the Trojans' hopes of a first-ever playoff invite.

USC will settle once again for a second-tier bowl game, while the Ducks are likely to be one of three Big Ten teams to host a playoff game.

It wasn’t an injury or an uncontrollable act that doomed them this time, but rather a rash of discipline errors that came at the worst possible time.

An extraordinary number of mistakes came from USC’s kick and punt teams, where the Trojans had looked somewhat improved this season. But that no longer seemed the case Saturday, as USC unraveled on special teams, putting its offense in too deep of a hole to climb out of.