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  Saturday, Sep. 25 10:15pm ET
Ducks shock Trojans in three-overtime thriller
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) -- Someone had to lose this head-spinning game eventually. A string of crucial mistakes made it Southern California, and kicker David Newbury took the blame.

Josh Frankel, Oregon's third kicker of the game, booted a 27-yard field goal in the third overtime late Saturday night as Oregon prevailed in the wildest game yet of the topsy-turvy Pac-10 season, upsetting the No. 16 Trojans 33-30.

USC
USC wide receiver R. Jay Soward scored a touchdown in the second overtime, but the Trojans couldn't maintain the lead.
"I take full responsibility for this loss," Newbury said after he had missed three field goals, one late in the fourth quarter and two in the extra periods of a game that lasted four hours and 40 minutes.

Newbury missed from 51 yards out in the first overtime, after a penalty pushed the Trojans back five yards. The last one from 37 yards was far short in the third extra period, setting up Frankel's winning kick.

"It was a great moment in my life," Frankel said after coming off the field, which was swarmed with fans. "Deke (Moen) got off a perfect snap, and I just kicked it through. Then next thing I know, I'm getting picked up in the air and 10,000 people want my autograph."

Nathan Villegas, Oregon's All-American kicker, who tied the game at 23 on a 26-yard field goal with 30 seconds left in regulation, also got picked up in the air, and the jubilation may have cost him dearly.

As teammates let him down, a jubilant Duck crashed into his right knee, his kicking knee. The team said he may have ligament damage.

A.J. Feeley passed 275 yards and threw three short touchdown passes for Oregon (3-1 overall, 1-0 Pac-10).

Mike Van Raaphorst, replacing injured quarterback Carson Palmer, engineered two fourth-quarter touchdown drives to rally the Trojans (2-1, 0-1) to a 23-20 lead with 3:08 remaining.

But in one of the many strange twists to the game, USC missed the critical extra point when the snap went over the holder's head. The chip shot was made into a 35-yarder after the Trojans were hit with a 15-yard unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty when Faaesea Mailo took his helmet off during the touchdown celebration.

On the ensuing kickoff, Oregon's Jason Cooper was spun 360 degrees and fumbled. The Trojans recovered, but Newbury missed a 30-yard field goal with 2:20 left.

"We just self-destructed at every turn," USC coach Paul Hackett said. "We lost every opportunity under the sun."

The Ducks drove down the field quickly, with Feeley completing passes to Tony Hartley and a 24-yarder to LaCorey Collins down to the Trojans' 8. After three unsuccessful plays, Villegas connected.

"I never lost doubt," Feeley said. "I just had a feeling we were going to pull it out. Especially when I saw fans leaving with a few minutes left _ that really (ticked) me off."

In overtime, Oregon won the coin toss and elected to play defense, which turned out to be a good move.

The Trojans started at the 25 and were quickly pushed back. Van Raaphorst was sacked for a four-yard loss on third down, and after a 5-yard false-start penalty, Newbury's 51-yard field goal attempt was wide left.

The Ducks were in position to win the game on their try after Derien Latimer ran for nine yards in three plays. But Dan Katz, who usually does kickoffs only, came in and missed a 33-yarder that sailed far left.

Oregon took a 30-23 lead in the second overtime on A.J. Feeley's third touchdown pass, a 1-yarder to Todd Brooks. But the Trojans came right back, on a 4-yard touchdown pass from Van Raaphorst to R. Jay Soward.

Palmer injured his right shoulder on a scramble just before halftime, taking a hit from Michael Fletcher.

Van Raaphorst filled in admirably, completing 20 of 36 passes for 227 yards and one touchdown.

Soward, held to just five receptions for 59 yards in USC's first two games, caught 12 passes for 148 yards.

Morton had touchdown runs of 1, 2 and 1 yards, but the Trojans were held to 31 yards on 31 carries.

USC, the most-penalized team in the Pac-10 last season, is off to another dubious title. USC committed a school-record 21 penalties for 178 yards, with many flags coming on pass interferences.

Hartley had seven receptions for 116 yards for the Ducks, who have won a school-record 11 straight at home.

Oregon took a 13-10 lead midway through the third quarter on a 19-yard field goal by Villegas. The play was set up by a 29-yard run on a fake punt by Kurtis Doerr.

A fumble by Soward led to a 10-yard scoring pass from Feeley to Herman Ho-Ching that put the Ducks ahead 20-10 with 1:55 left in the third quarter.

Ho-Ching replaced Oregon's leading rusher, Reuben Droughns, who suffered torn rib cartilage and sat out the second half.

The game was the Trojans' 999th all-time.

 


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