USC Chokes: Oregon State Beavers Upset Trojans

Two years ago, USC went into Reser Stadium ranked third and lost. Thursday night the Trojans went into Reser Stadium ranked No. 1. The score was different, but the result remained the same. The Oregon State Beavers defeated USC, 27-21.

After absolutely shellacking Virginia and the other OSU (Ohio State), the Trojans got thoroughly outplayed in the first half and went into the locker room trailing, 21-0. For the first 30 minutes of the ball game, USC couldn’t convert third downs, couldn’t tackle Beavers’ running back Jacquizz Rodgers, and couldn’t get the Oregon State offense off the field.

USC came out of the locker room for the second half with more energy and scored two touchdowns in the third quarter. When Trojans quarterback Mark Sanchez had time to throw, he was deadly, completing 18-of-29 passes for 227 yards and three touchdowns, but he threw a costly interception to Beavers’ defensive back Greg Laybourn, which lead to the winning touchdown.

Meanwhile, Oregon State kept it simple. Simple meant giving the ball to Rodgers, the fab freshman. USC had troubled tackling the tiny Texan all night. Rodgers, who stands at 5'7", finished with 186 yards on 37 carries and two touchdowns. Oregon State also dominated the time of possession, 37:49 to 22:11.

The Trojans had poor field position all night. They also finished with seven penalties for 84 yards, but every penalty they committed seemed to thwart a drive. While USC was steps faster than previous opponents, Thursday night the Beavers seemed to be just as fast.

OSU’s kicking game was horrible. They shanked a couple of punts, but got lucky when they took fortuitous bounces. They also missed a field goal and an extra point.

While not the biggest upset of all-time, (although it was the first time since 1990 that a losing team beat a No. 1-ranked team) it is another reminder why we love college football. Also, USC didn’t lose this game, Oregon State won it.