USC Football: How One Innocuous Play Foreshadowed Doom for the Trojans

It seemed so innocent at the time.

USC's first offensive series and they were driving.

Confident and efficient, the Trojans marched down the field and within the Beavers 30 yard line, hurried up to the line of scrimmage and went for it on fourth and two, pitching the ball to Marc Tyler, the bruising back who had just lit up Arizona for 161 yards the week before.

And he was promptly stuffed.

Falling short after an official replay, the Trojans turned the ball over on downs and along with the pigskin went that Trojan swagger that USC had fought so hard to attain in the last couple of weeks.

From that point forward, the momentum shifted.

An uncertain crowd began to cheer with vigor for the Beavers and Mike Riley's boys found that elusive pep that was so conspicuously absent when Oregon State bowed to mighty Washington State the week before.

There will be many people who will point to the horrible effort put forth by the Trojan offensive line and of course, they would be right.

Others will say that this loss was a team effort and they too would be right.

But in this game, the failure of the men in the trenches was monumental.

That same O-line that manhandled an excellent Arizona defensive line the week before, simply couldn't handle Stephen Paea and his buddies in the Beaver interior.

For their efforts, Trojan nation, at least some of them, will now likely get their wish.

Meet your new USC quarterback, Mitch Mustain.

Just in time for the Fighting Irish.

Which brings us back to that innocuous, innocent, little running play alluded to at the beginning of this piece.

The play that foreshadowed USC's ultimate demise because Tyler didn't have a hole to muster a couple of lousy yards.

That same play also told of what was to come for Matt Barkley whose luck eventually ran out when he suffered a high ankle sprain courtesy of that ineffective offensive interior of the Trojans.

If the Trojans, particularly the offensive line, don't get their act together and Mustain goes down, the next quarterback up goes by the name of Manoogian, Kan, Neyer or Saee (unless you want to burn a red shirt year for Jesse Scroggins).

Of course, if that occurs, you can kiss the USC winning streak against the Irish goodbye.

And for Trojan fans, there is nothing innocent about that scenario.