USC Chokes
- September 25th, 2008
- Posted in Uncategorized
- By: Ryan Hogan
Two years ago USC went into Reser Stadium ranked third and lost. Thursday night the Trojans went into Reser Stadium ranked number one. The score was different, but the result remained the same. The Oregon State Beavers defeated USC 27 to 21.
After absolutely shellacking Virginia and the other OSU (Ohio State), the Trojans got thoroughly out played 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, they couldn’t tackle Beavers’ running back Jacquizz Rodgers and they 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 3rd quarter. When Trojan quarterback Mark Sanchez had time to throw he was deadly, he completed 18 of 29 passes for 227 yards, 3 touchdowns but he threw a costly interception to Beavers’ defensive back Greg Laybourn which lead to the game-winning touchdown.
Meanwhile, Oregon State kept it simple. Simple meant giving the ball to fab freshman Jacquizz Rodgers. USC had troubled tackling the tiny Texan all night. Jacquizz finished with 186 yards on 37 carries and 2 touchdowns. Oregon State also dominated the time of possession 37:49 to 22:11.
Trojan’s had poor field position all night. They also finished with 7 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 number one ranked team) it is another reminder why we love college football. Also, USC didn’t lose this game, Oregon State won it.
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