At the beginning of the season, this game was sought to be arguably the most anticipated on the schedule for Oregon.

USC had taken off in coach Lincoln Riley's first season last year, winning 11 games and reaching the Pac-12 championship game. The Trojans were a top-10 team and College Football Playoff Contender for much of this season as well, led by the reigning Heisman Trophy winner in QB Caleb Williams.

But on Saturday night in Autzen Stadium, there was a clear difference between the state of the two programs.

No. 6-ranked Oregon scored on Bo Nix touchdown passes of 77 yards and 84 yards within its first five offensive plays and remained in clear control the rest of the way, finishing off a 36-27 win after having led by as many as 22 points in the fourth quarter.

“We saw what we were capable of," Ducks coach Dan Lanning said. "It is still about players making plays. A guy made a great catch, broke a tackle, and turned it into a huge play. I think that’s what football really is about. ... They did some things that we thought we could take advantage of. I thought our coaches did a good job of attacking that, but there are still some finishing pieces that we can certainly clean up.”

RELATED: Scott Reed's Fifth Quarter analysis breakdown | Everything Dan Lanning said after the win over USC | WATCH: Interviews with Oregon players after the win

Oregon (9-1, 6-1 Pac-12) remained in control of its path to the Pac-12 title game while all but knocking USC (7-4, 5-3) out of contention (excluding some convoluted potential tiebreaker scenarios).

In the matchup of coaches in their second seasons with their respective programs, Lanning's Ducks looked like a legit College Football Playoff contender while dealing Riley's reeling Trojans their fourth loss in the last five games.

Sharing the spotlight with the reigning Heisman winner, Oregon quarterback Bo Nix boosted his own Heisman case by completing 23 of 31 passes for 412 yards, 4 touchdowns and 0 interceptions while setting the tone early.

On Oregon's second play of the game, Nix connected with Tez Johnson for what would become a 77-yard touchdown as he made safety Max Williams miss and then left All-American safety Calen Bullock grasping at air on a failed tackle attempt.

USC answered with a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive fueled by some brilliant play by Williams and a 5-yard touchdown run from MarShawn Lloyd, but three plays later the Ducks were in the end zone again as Troy Franklin hauled in a Nix pass and blazed past the USC defense for an 84-yard score.

On the Ducks' third possession, Nix threw a dart to tight end Terrance Ferguson in the end zone for a 15-yard touchdown, and on their fourth drive he hit Franklin deep downfield for 63 yards to set up a 33-yard Camden Lewis field goal.

Overall, Oregon scored four touchdowns and a field goal over its first five full drives (excluding a brief end-of-half possession and kneel-down) and didn't punt until late in the third quarter.

“Our team, our DNA is something we thought would show up in the game. I think they did," Lanning said. "There was never any panic, never any relax in our guys. When they are able to execute at the level we are able to perform at, I think we have a really, really special team. I think all those things showed up. It’s not about want to, it’s really about who’s willing to do more. Our guys were willing to do that little bit extra against a team that is really talented.”

A 21-yard Nix touchdown pass to Johnson and a 19-yard Bucky Irving touchdown run made it a 36-14 Ducks lead early in the fourth quarter.

Led by Williams (291 passing yards, 1 TD, 1 rushing TD), USC did mount a late charge with two fourth-quarter touchdowns, but a failed two-point conversion try with 3:44 remaining left the Trojans down two scores still and the Ducks closed out the game from there.

The reported crowd of 59,957 was the fifth-largest in Autzen Stadium history.

“How about that crowd? Absolutely electric group. Made that really special," Lanning said. "It was fun to sit out there and watch two elite quarterbacks battle it out. Obviously, we’ve got a really special one on our sideline. I think that’s a Heisman-worthy performance from Bo and fun to do it in front of the fifth-largest crowd ever here in Autzen Stadium.

"We knew that they were a talented team. We knew they were dangerous and had the ability to come back, so I don’t know if anybody ever felt relaxed. I’m disappointed a little with our finish because I think that we are a much better team than what we showed down the stretch, but we got some good experience for some guys. ...

"I thought we were physical tonight. I thought that showed up consistently and we knew we had to eliminate some explosive plays, but we gave them life with a couple of those explosive plays they hit late.”

First Quarter:

11:00, Bo Nix 77-yard pass to Tez Johnson (Camden Lewis PAT), 7-0 Oregon

5:37, MarShawn Lloyd 5-yard run (Denis Lynch PAT), 7-7 USC

4:11, Bo Nix 84-yard pass to Troy Franklin (two-point conversion unsuccessful), 13-7 Oregon

Second Quarter:

10:49, Bo Nix 15-yard pass to Terrance Ferguson (two-point conversion unsuccessful), 19-7 Oregon

1:59, Camden Lewis 33-yard FG, 22-7 Oregon

0:12, Caleb Williams 2-yard run (Denis Lynch PAT), 22-14 Oregon

Third Quarter:

8:17, Bo Nix 21-yard pass to Tez Johnson (Camden Lewis PAT), 29-14 Oregon

Fourth Quarter:

14:55, Bucky Irving 19-yard run (Camden Lewis PAT), 36-14 Oregon

11:27, Caleb Williams 9-yard pass to Brenden Rice (Denis Lynch PAT), 36-21 Oregon

3:48, Austin Jones 22-yard run (two-point conversion unsuccessful), 36-27 Oregon

The turning point of the game came late in the third quarter and into the fourth when Oregon pushed the lead beyond the point of recovery for USC.

Down by 15 and desperately in need of a big drive, Caleb Williams struggled with the RPO handoff, resulting in a fumble that Evan Williams had the quick instinct to jump on at the USC 48.

Five plays later, the Ducks were back in the end zone on Bucky Irving's 19-yard touchdown run to go up 36-1 and set up another Oregon touchdown drive to extend the lead to 22 and put the game out of reach.

Given USC's late surge, that turn of events loomed large in the end.

After an unsuccessful duel against fellow Heisman candidate Michael Penix Jr. in Seattle, Bo Nix got another chance against one of the best quarterbacks in the country and stole the spotlight this time.

Caleb Williams won the award a season ago and came out with the energy of a Heisman winner on Saturday night. That being so, Nix outperformed him. In his second-to-last game ever in Autzen Stadium, Nix put on a show.

He threw for 412 yards (season-high) and 4 touchdowns (tied for season-high). The Bo Dacious billboards and posters will stay thriving for the remainder of the season as this game certainly solidified Nix as a Heisman finalist.

“I’ll have to go back and watch the film, but just his consistency. To not punt the ball in the first half, I think speaks to his efficiency," Lanning said. "Not all of that was necessarily throwing the ball, it was him getting us into the right run check, checking us into proper place, just being efficient with the ball."

But also, a lot of huge passes ...

There might not have been a player on the field with more steps Saturday night than Evan Williams. He was flying all over the field coming up with big plays and securing tackles. He led the team with 9 total tackles while also picking up a sack and the aforementioned big-time fumble recovery to really swing momentum.

With his brother Bennett in attendance, Evan played one of his best games of the year and was a crucial piece in the 9-point victory.

There were two plays on the first two offensive drives of the game -- posted within Nix's highlights -- for Oregon that set the tone for the Ducks, so both deserve another mention.

Tez Johnson started things off with a 77-yard reception. Most of the yards came after an impressive spin move freed him from USC defenders closely in reach. His speed allowed him to take it all the way to the endzone.

The second play was more of the same. Troy Franklin took a 25-yard pass and made a move on his defender to find open grass. That 25 turned to 84 in a hurry with Franklin’s electric speed giving the Ducks their second touchdown of the quarter.

Oregon won the game because it created pressure on defense and came up with explosive plays on offense. There is no stopping Caleb Williams. The talent around him combined with his skill leaves opposing defenses clueless a majority of the time. The Ducks were able to keep him relatively contained with a healthy mix of pressures and some crucial third-down stops throughout the game.

And then Bo Nix, Bucky Irving, Troy Franklin, Tez Johnson and Terrance Ferguson all showed up huge today. Besides the penalties (13 for 120 yards), it was another complete game for an Oregon team only two regular season wins away from a Pac-12 title birth.

Passing:

Bo Nix: 23-31, 412 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INT

Bucky Irving: 0-1, 0 yards

Rushing:

Bucky Irving: 19 carries, 118 yards, 1 TD

Jordan James: 7 carries, 25 yards

Bo Nix: 1 carry, 5 yards

Receiving:

Tez Johnson: 7 receptions, 126 yards, 2 TD’s

Terrance Ferguson: 6 receptions, 60 yards, 1 TD

Bucky Irving: 5 receptions, 43 yards

Troy Franklin: 2 receptions, 147 yards, 1 TD

Gary Bryant Jr.: 2 receptions, 23 yards

Jordan James: 1 reception, 13 yards

Defense:

Evan Williams: 9 tackles, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, 1 pass breakup

Tysheem Johnson: 6 tackles

Jeffrey Bassa: 5 tackles

Brandon Dorlus: 1 sack

Teitum Tuoti: 1 sack

-The Ducks have won three straight in the series with USC and are now 23-38-2 against the Trojans all time, including wins in five of the last six matchups and eight of the last 11, dating back to 2007.

-This marked Oregon's 30th win in its last 31 home games.

-Oregon surpassed 500 yards for the eighth time this season, amassing 552 total yards of offense and eclipsed 400 passing yards for the second straight game (412).

-This was the first time since at least 1996 that two Oregon receivers had catches of 75 yards or more in the same game (Troy Franklin, 84; Tez Johnson, 77).

-Oregon has scored 33 or more points in 20 of last 22 games, going back to last season.

-The defense held USC to 73 rushing yards (31 in first half) -- the seventh time allowing fewer than 100 rushing yards in a game.

-Quarterback Bo Nix is the second Duck in program history with three career 400-yard passing games (Akili Smith) and his 412 yards were the most passing yards ever by a Duck against USC. It was also his second straight game with four touchdown passes and has thrown multiple TDs in 12 straight games, going back to last season. His touchdown throws of 77 and 84 yards on his first two pass attempts of the game marked the two longest completions of his Ducks career, and he became the first FBS quarterback to throw touchdowns of at least 75 yards on first two pass attempts since at least 2012; only other player to throw 75-plus yards on first two attempts was Baylor’s Jacob Zeno in 2019 (did not start and one pass was not a touchdown).

-Wide receiver Troy Franklin's career-long 84-yard touchdown reception was the longest reception by a Duck since LaMichael James’84-yard score on Oct. 9, 2010. That was Franklin's sixth 100-yard receiving game of the season, tying an Oregon single-season record, and he now has 1,093 yards receiving this season, becoming the 12th Duck with a 1,000-yard season and first since Dillon Mitchell in 2018. That total is already the fourth-most receiving yards in a single season in Ducks history, 91 away from Mitchell’s single-season record of 1,184 (2018).

-Tight end Terrance Ferguson set a career high in receptions (6) while turning in a season best in receiving yards (60) and moved into a ninth-place tie on the Oregon career list for touchdown catches by a tight end (10). He has at least one reception in 26 consecutive games, tied for sixth-longest streak in UO history.