Oregon Freshman Ify Obidegwu Turns Heads With USC Trojans Picture

For those who attended the Oregon Duck's 42-27 win against the USC Trojans at Autzen Stadium, the passion between both teams throughout the game was obvious as athletes appeared to bicker back and forth frequently between games.

The heated rivalry was also most recently highlighted in Oregon's "Ducks vs. Them" game recap video, with coach Dan Lanning referencing sassy game notes published by the USC program during a team meeting and USC Assistant Athletic Director and Director of Player Relations Gavin Morris making it into the film with a gregarious display midfield prior to kickoff.

Adding fuel to the feuding fire, Oregon freshman defensive back Ify Obidegwu posted a photo on his Instagram story poking for at the Trojans that went viral after the game.

Freshman defensive back Ify Obidegwu poses with a USC Trojan football after the Oregon Ducks defeat USC 42-27. | @ify0bidegwu on Instagram Stories

Ify Spears the Trojans

On Monday, Obidegwu posted a photo on his Instagram (@ify0bidegwu) story depicting the freshman athlete holding a USC Trojan football and pointing to the USC logo while walking up the home team tunnel back to the Marcus Mariota Performance center for postgame practices.

For those that might be wondering why Obidegwu's post is so charged, in the second quarter of the game against USC, Obidegwu picked off Trojan starting quarterback Jayden Maiava's 13-yard pass after a quarterback hurry from linebacker Matayo Uiagalelei.

PICKED by Ify Obidegwu 🦆 @oregonfootball

📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/Fey1PB9awQ
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) November 22, 2025

Everyday I'm Scuffling

Obidegwu, with the ball in hand, rushed to the end of the sidelines near the East endzone to celebrate his first career pick with Duck fans. While doing so, USC wide receiver Ja'Kobi Lane persued Obidegwu in a tackle far past the referee whistle, and tried to wrestle the ball away from the Duck.

As Lane wrestled with Obidegwu, linebacker Bryce Boettcher, and defensive backs Brandon Finney Jr., and Kingston Lopa rushed to split up the two before the Oregon sidelines swarmed the left East Endzone.

Nov 22, 2025; Eugene, Oregon, USA; Southern California Trojans wide receiver Tanook Hines (16) celebrates scoring a touch down with wide receiver Ja'Kobi Lane (8) during the first half at Autzen Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images | Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

This play resulted in Lane being hit with an unsportsmanlike penalty, moving Oregon 15 yards to their 44-yard line and helping lead to a Boettcher touchdown on Oregon's following drive.

According to the CBS broadcast of the game, Lane continued to wrestle with Obidegwu to retrieve the USC branded ball so Obidegwu's post with a USC branded ball directly references this moment.

After Oregons interception by Ify Obidegwu, Ja’Kobi Lane was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct on the sidelines.

What is going on? pic.twitter.com/OsFer0tySy
— Adrian Medina (@AdrianMedina_16) November 22, 2025

Going Viral

After Obidegwu posted this snapshot on his Instagram stories, Duck fans screenshotted the post to share on social media, where Duck and Trojan fans continued to share antagonistic exchanges with each other about the play and game.

Oregon defensive back Ify Obidegwu intercepts a pass intended for USC tight end Walker Lyons as the Oregon Ducks host the USC Trojans on Nov. 22, 2025, at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Lanning Comments on Chippy Nature of the Game

When it comes to the emotion taking center stage for the Ducks vs. the Trojans, Lanning acknowledged the swelling of emotions during the match-up in his post game press conference.

"Disappointed in general in our lack of composure at times. I thought obviously we were penalized in this game, gave up 130 yards of penalties. Some of them made sense and some of them maybe didn't. But ultimately there's certainly some we can go clean up and attack," Lanning said.

Both teams ended up losing over 100 yards each due to penalties, with Oregon accepting 130 yards lost due to 10 different calls. Two of those penalties for a combined 30 yards were offensive unsportsmanlike penalty fouls, one against wide receiver Malik Benson in the second quarter and one, also in the second quarter, against offensive lineman Dave Iuli.

The Trojans accepted eight penalties for 103 yards, which included two offensive unsportsmanlike conduct penalties against wide receiver Tanook Hines and the aforementioned Lane, and one defensive unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on linebacker Desman Stephens II. Those penalties accounted for 43 of USC's 103 lost penalty yards.