(AP Photo/Don Ryan)

Halloween night turned out to be more frightening than Southern California expected as the 10th-ranked Oregon Ducks handed the 4th-ranked Trojans a 47-20 loss in Eugene that is sure to haunt USC’s dreams for some time to come.

The Trojans had no answer for the offensive explosion exhibited by Ducks' tailback LaMichael James as well as Jeremiah Masoli, who together rushed for a combined 347 yards on the ground.

James' performance is notable because he not only rushed for a career high 183 yards, but he did it against a Trojans' run defense that was arguably one of the better ones in the nation, until Saturday night that is.

Starting Oregon quarterback, Jeremiah Masoli, put forth what could be considered the game of his career, constantly proving to be a nuisance for Southern California defenders and helping the Ducks rack up 613 yards of total offense.

Simply put, the Ducks hit the Trojans with everything they had and the Trojans never knew what was coming.

The Trojans were able to keep pace with the Ducks until about midway through the second quarter and ended up going into halftime down 24-17; however, it would be their defensive shortcomings in the second half that would ultimately doom Southern California.

There was no stopping the Ducks on Halloween night.

If not for a Malcolm Smith forced fumble midway through the second quarter, which ultimately resulted in a Southern California score, the game could have been a lot uglier a lot earlier.

True freshman quarterback, Matt Barkley, had 187 yards on 21-of-38 passing and connected with each of Ronald Johnson and Damian Williams for touchdowns in the second quarter.

Unfortunately for the Trojans, Williams' touchdown would be the last touchdown they scored that night.

Besides a Jordan Congdon field goal in the third quarter, it was all Oregon in the second half as the Trojans defense gave up two touchdowns and three field goals in what turned out to be the worst Southern California loss under Pete Carroll's tenure.

In trying to figure out exactly what happened, it is difficult to point out specifically where it all went wrong.

There were enough missed assignments, wide open running lanes and blown coverages to make any coach’s head spin.

It would be unfair to single out a specific defender for failing to make a stop or a specific offensive player for failing to make plays.

Any way you want to look at it, it is a game to forget for players on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.

The Ducks have now positioned themselves well at the top of the Pac-10 standings and are poised to capture the Pac-10 title from a Trojans team, who had won or shared the last seven Pac-10 titles.

Where exactly do the Trojans go from here? Who knows? However, Southern California will need to shake this demon from Halloween night fast if USC wants to salvage its season.