Tunnel Vision: Special teams blunders in Eugene sink USC’s hope of a College Football Playoffs berth

On this latest edition of Tunnel Vision USCFootball.com's Ryan Abraham, Connor Morrissette (aka "Triple-Double") and intern Riley Sager are back in studio recapping USC's 42-27 loss to Oregon, knocking the Trojans out of the College Football Playoff picture. Facing the No. 7 ranked Ducks, the No. 15 Trojans needed to play a clean game in Autzen Stadium and unfortunately it was anything but from Lincoln Riley and company. Major special teams blunders, including a leaping penalty on a punt and punt return for a touchdown, put points directly on the board for Oregon and that was simply too much for the Trojans to overcome. The crew breaks down the game, discussing what went right for the Men of Troy and what went wrong, and how the Ducks provided a real opportunity for an upset with some sloppy play of their own. Offensively USC put up 100 more passing yards than any of Oregon's opponents this season, but Jayden Maiava did have two costly interceptions and the run game was essentially non existent. Defensively USC played better in the second half but just couldn't get enough stops to slow down the Ducks potent offense. Special teams was an absolute disaster, starting with a kickoff out of bounds, a kick catch interference call, leaping that took away a USC stop and led to a Ducks touchdown, giving up a punt return for a touchdown and then a missed short field goal. At a minimum that cost USC 17 points in a game it lost by 15. Despite the loss, the potential for 10 wins is still a major improvement over last season, but being unable to pull off a win in any of the three toughest road games is a tough pill to swallow for the Trojans. This is the podcast version of our Tunnel Vision video show. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠CLICK HERE for 30% OFF an annual VIP membership to USCFootball.com!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Please review, rate and subscribe to the Peristyle Podcast on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Make sure you check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠USCFootball.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for complete coverage of this USC Trojan football team.  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices