Thinking Big, USC Wins Big : Trojans: Morton has three touchdowns, Conway returns punt 96 yards and defense has 13 sacks in 32-10 victory over Oregon.

USC’s 32-10 victory over Oregon at the Coliseum on Saturday, ending a four-game home losing streak for the Trojans, was anything but routine.

On a day when the winners outgained the losers by only seven yards, had 13 sacks but only 12 first downs and converted only one of 12 third-down opportunities, the Trojans won big with big plays:

--Linebacker Lamont Hollinquest set the tone, stripping the ball from Oregon’s Sean Burwell on the opening kickoff to set up a field goal by Cole Ford that gave USC the lead for good only 86 seconds into the game.

--Curtis Conway returned a punt 35 yards to set up USC’s first touchdown, then returned another 96 yards to score the Trojans’ second.

--Linebacker Donn Cunnigan recovered a fumbled punt by Oregon’s Ronnie Harris, setting up the Trojans’ third touchdown.

--Oregon’s Michael Allison snapped the ball over the head of punter Tommy Thompson and out of the end zone, giving USC a safety.

--USC scored three of its four touchdowns on passes from quarterback Rob Johnson to split end Johnnie Morton. The plays covered 36, 25 and 22 yards.

“If I had a beard, I’d feel a lot like Santa Claus,” Oregon Coach Rich Brooks said. “We gave them so many opportunities early.

“We just dug ourselves a big hole.”

USC had a 17-0 lead before it had its second first down.

And the Trojans, who ended a six-game losing streak against Pacific 10 Conference opponents, built a 26-7 halftime lead while producing only 98 yards, including only 15 yards rushing in 19 attempts.

“I know we sputtered a little offensively, but the key thing was, we capitalized with some big plays in the passing game,” said Coach Larry Smith after USC improved to 2-1-1 overall, 1-1 in the Pac-10. “Our offense was timely, coming up with big plays to get us in the end zone.”

Johnson made a strong comeback after leaving during the second quarter of last week’s 17-10 loss to Washington because of a concussion, completing 11 of 16 passes for 125 yards, with one interception.

So did Morton, who didn’t even make the trip to Seattle last week because of an ankle injury. For the second time this season, the junior receiver equaled a school record by catching three touchdown passes.

“I think we could have thrown on them (more) if we’d called it, but we were trying to establish the run game,” Johnson said.

They never did, finishing with 101 yards in 39 attempts.

But it could have been worse.

Oregon (3-3, 1-2) was limited to minus-10 yards rushing, including 13 sacks of Danny O’Neil for 63 yards in losses.

“We were putting a lot of pressure on them,” Smith said. “We said at halftime that it looked like the pressure was beginning to take its toll, and we weren’t going to back off. We were going to keep after them, and (our defenders) just kept it up. They didn’t let up at all.”

O’Neil, a sophomore from Mater Dei High in Santa Ana, completed 22 of 32 passes for 229 yards and a touchdown, with no interceptions.

But he was under pressure from the opening kickoff, when Burwell’s fumble was recovered by USC’s Zuri Hector at Oregon’s 16-yard line.

A 32-yard field goal by Ford gave the Trojans a 3-0 lead.

O’Neil was sacked on Oregon’s third offensive play, setting up a punt that was returned 35 yards by Conway to Oregon’s 36-yard line.

On the next play, Johnson and Morton hooked up for a touchdown.

O’Neil was sacked twice more during Oregon’s second possession, leading to Conway’s 96-yard punt return up the middle of the field.

Conway, who caught Thompson’s punt near the right hash mark, said the return was designed to go up the right sideline, but, “I saw the hole up the middle, and I said, ‘Hey, I might as well try to go for it.’ ”

On the USC sideline, safety Stephon Pace turned to cornerback Jason Oliver and said of Conway, “Thank God he’s on our team.”

Conway’s punt return was the longest in Trojan history, surpassing a 93-yard return by Ernie Merk against Minnesota on Oct. 29, 1955.

And it gave USC a 17-0 lead only 6:42 into the game.

Oregon cut the deficit to 17-7 on a 14-yard touchdown pass from O’Neil to flanker Anthony Jones on its next possession.

But USC scored twice more before halftime, with Johnson’s 25-yard second-quarter touchdown pass to Morton in the left corner of the end zone preceding the Trojans’ first safety since Oct. 6, 1984.

Morton made a spectacular catch over cornerback Herman O’Berry.

“It was real close coverage, so I just put it out there where I thought Johnnie would have a chance to get it,” Johnson said.

Said Morton, who also had three touchdown receptions against San Diego State: “It’s supposed to be a little more open than that, but I guess Rob had confidence in me, and I went up over the cornerback and got it.”

Morton scored again on a 22-yard play with 11:10 to play, spinning past cornerback Alex Holden after taking a short pass.

Later, Morton and his teammates left the field to cheers.

Said Smith: “It has been 13 months since we had a victory at the Coliseum and our team, our fans and our whole program needed this game.”

Trojan Notes

Linebackers Willie McGinest and Jeff Kopp had three sacks apiece for USC, with linebacker Mike Salmon and nose guard Thomas Holland adding two each. . . . USC hadn’t scored on a safety since Oct. 6, 1984, when Tony Colorito blocked a punt out of the end zone during a 29-27 victory over Washington State at Pullman, Wash. . . . Oregon’s rushing yardage was the lowest by a USC opponent since Nov. 4, 1989, when Oregon State ran for minus-13 yards during a 48-6 loss at the Coliseum. . . . USC has yet to give up a point in the fourth quarter this season.