LOS ANGELES _ Through this harrowingly uneven season, as his quarterback's torn ACL gave way to an unknown freshman, as a statement over Stanford turned to peril in Provo then unexpected ecstasy against Utah, as his road woes returned and his offense fought through growing pains and his defense was decimated by injury, Clay Helton talked often about the power of destiny.
As USC (5-4, 3-2) clung tightly to its tiebreaker atop the conference, Helton clung desperately to that notion. Destiny was still in their hands. The Pac-12 was still in play. All the Trojans needed to do was hold on.
Then, on a November night at the Coliseum, in a clash with the class of the conference, that destiny faced its stiffest test yet, and USC lost its grip, fumbling away its Pac-12 fate in a 56-24 loss to No. 7 Oregon. With three games left in the season and Utah now ahead in the division, the destiny held close now felt like a far-flung dream.
Their grip on the division had been tenuous to begin with. But over a sloppy second quarter on Saturday night which saw Oregon score four touchdowns, it took a literal tumble to the turf.
USC was still leading, 10-7, when Kedon Slovis tried to scramble away from a descending Oregon rush, with only three yards remaining until the endzone. He cocked back his arm to throw, but as his right arm flung forward, the ball didn't join it.
The fumble set off a sequence for the Trojans that would surely serve as nightmare fuel for weeks to come. As a golden opportunity went wasted, the Ducks drove 92 yards down the field, took the lead, and never returned it.
What began with a dynamic first quarter for USC's freshman quarterback took a sharp turn into territory he hoped was behind him. Just an hour earlier, he'd taken off scrambling in the pocket, spinning left, then right, evading Oregon defenders until Drake London came open for an impressively improvised touchdown pass.
But with his fumble, the turnover issues that Slovis had kept at bay in recent weeks reared their head. Just two plays into USC's next drive, Slovis threw to the sideline, unaware of the Ducks corner about to jump the route.
His pass was picked off, and 32 yards later, the Brady Breeze's interception wound up in the opposite end zone.
As fell further behind, with its backfield still depleted by injury, it had no choice but to continue leaning on Slovis, who set a school record with 57 pass attempts on Saturday. But it was Slovis' four turnovers, his most yet at USC, that would ultimately loom larger. He'd finish with 264 yards and two touchdowns, while completing a season low 56% of his passes.
For another drive, though, Slovis and the Trojans still hold onto hope. A 9-play, 74-yard drive before the half kept faith alive at the Coliseum, where the Trojans had yet to lose this season.
With just 20 seconds remaining, USC kicked off to Oregon, down 21-17 and ready to regroup in the locker room. But the momentum built over its only scoring drive of the second quarter was squandered in an instant, as Oregon return Mykael Wright took the kick back 100 yards without a sniff of a USC defender near him.
The rout was on from there.
USC did its best to limit Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert, turning up the pressure early. But the future top draft pick diced up the Trojans, at one point completing 16 of 17 passes. After throwing his third touchdown of the second half, the Ducks brought in their backup.
By then, after weeks of holding onto hope, destiny had turned its back on the Trojans.
