No. 10 Oregon runs past No. 4 USC 47-20

EUGENE, Ore. — Jeremiah Masoli and Oregon trampled the USC Trojans, leaving the kings of the Pac-10 in serious danger of relinquishing the throne they’ve held for the last seven seasons.

Masoli threw for 222 yards and a touchdown and ran for 164 more yards with another score and the No. 10 Ducks pummeled No. 4 USC 47-20 Saturday night, the Trojans’ worst loss in 12 years.

Redshirt freshman LaMichael James ran for 183 yards and a score as the Ducks (7-1, 5-0) racked up 391 yards on the ground against the Trojans, who came into the game with the fifth-best rush defense in the nation, allowing an average of just 79.9 yards a game.

USC (6-2, 3-2) had not lost a game by more than a touchdown since a 27-16 loss to Notre Dame in 2001, Pete Carroll’s first season as Trojans coach. It was USC’s worst lost since 1997, when the Trojans lost 35-7 to ASU and 27-0 to Washington.

Oregon remains in first place, undefeated in the Pacific 10 Conference. USC will need a small miracle to extend its run of seven consecutive Pac-10 titles.

Oregon fans were decked out in special black “”Fright Night”” T-shirts with a duck-and-crossbones motif to commemorate the Halloween night game — billed as the Pac-10’s biggest game of the season. Afterward the fans swarmed the field, while a ring of blue-jacketed security guards circled the goal posts.

It turned out to be a Fright Night for USC’s defense, which allowed 613 yards.

The Ducks have won seven straight games since an embarrassing 19-8 loss at Boise State in the opener, a game that got uglier when running back LeGarrette Blount punched a Broncos defensive end as he was leaving the field.

Blount was suspended for the season and Oregon moved on without him. James was his replacement.

USC freshman quarterback Matt Barkley, who earlier this week predicted he would feed off Autzen’s deafening noise, completed 21 of 38 passes for 187 yards and two scores. He was intercepted once.

Masoli completed 19 of 31 for Oregon, which had never before scored as many points against the Trojans.

California nips Arizona State 23-21 on late kick

TEMPE — After trying to give the game away for most of the afternoon, California pulled itself together just in time.

Cal mounted a dramatic fourth-quarter drive against one of the Pac-10’s top defenses to defeat ASU 23-21 on a 24-yard field goal by Giorgio Tavecchio with 21 seconds to play on Saturday.

That’s how the Golden Bears prevailed on a day they committed 12 penalties for 115 yards, fumbled four times — losing the ball twice — and missed two field goals.

“”It wasn’t pretty by any means,”” Cal coach Jeff Tedford said. “”But when you run into games like this, it’s real important for people to dig down deep and believe in each other, and I thought that was evident today with our team.””

The Golden Bears (6-2, 3-2 Pac-10) have won three straight after back-to-back losses to Oregon and USC by a combined 72-6.

“”They kept battling, never got down, never gave up,”” Tedford said.

Jacquizz Rodgers torches UCLA as James Rodgers’ late TD buoys Oregon St.

CORVALLIS, Ore. — Jacquizz Rodgers had 112 yards rushing, 96 yards receiving and a touchdown pass; his brother James Rodgers ran for the winning score and received for 106 yards; and Oregon State had to scramble for a 26-19 win over UCLA on Saturday.

Kevin Prince completed 22-of-34 passes for 323 yards and two touchdowns and rallied the Bruins back from a 19-3 fourth-quarter deficit, but UCLA (3-4, 0-5 Pac-10) fell for the fifth straight week to match its worst-ever start in conference play. Rosario Nelson had six catches for 152 yards and a touchdown for the Bruins.

UCLA tied the game at 19 after Prince threw for two touchdowns and two two-point conversions, but the Beavers marched down the field for a 70-yard drive that James Rodgers capped with a 17-yard run on a fly sweep for the go-ahead touchdown.

That left Prince and the Bruins with 44 seconds and only one timeout to make a final drive, but time ran out after a completion to Taylor Embree at the Beavers’ 27.

Sean Canfield was 25-of-34 for 305 yards for the Beavers (5-3, 3-2 Pac-10), who beat the Bruins at Corvallis for the first time since 1999.

Tate, No. 25 Irish thump Washington St. 40-14

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Golden Tate scored two touchdowns, including a spectacular grab of a desperation heave at the end of the first half, and No. 25 Notre Dame got its first easy win in almost two months by clobbering Washington State 40-14 on Saturday night.

The previous six games for Notre Dame (6-2) were decided in the final seconds. But Washington State (1-7) was buried by halftime.

Robert Hughes ran for 131 yards on 24 carries and had a touchdown, delighting a Texas crowd that was overwhelmingly filled with Fighting Irish fans. The Alamodome blowout debuted Notre Dame’s plan to play one offsite home game a year.

Jimmy Clausen was 22-of-27 for 268 yards and two touchdowns, including the 50-yarder that Tate somehow pulled down between three defenders.