The No. 3 University of Southern California Trojans' surefire path to the national championship game took a devastating setback on Saturday, as the Oregon State Beavers shocked the Trojans by building a 23-point lead late in the third quarter and eventually holding on to vanquish the Trojans, 33-31.
The Trojans turned the ball over four times and still almost pulled out the win. However, the Beavers were able to make one more play than the Trojans, when they stopped USC on a game tying two-point conversion attempt with seven seconds left in the game.
The Trojans were the highest ranked team to lose at Oregon State since a No. 1 USC team, featuring a tailback named O.J. Simpson, lost 3-0 in Corvallis, Ore., in 1967.
Saturday's game featured tremendous efforts from two receivers. Oregon State receiver Sammie Stroughter had eight catches for 127 yards and also a had 70-yard punt return that made it 30-10 OSU in the third quarter. In a losing effort, USC receiver Steve Smith had 11 catches for 258 yards, just short of the USC single-game receiving record. He also had two touchdowns but failed to catch the potential game tying two-point try.
This was the Trojans' first regular season loss since September of 2003, when they lost to the California Golden Bears 34-31 in triple overtime. The loss snapped several Trojan streaks, including 38 straight regular season wins, 27 straight Pac-10 wins, 18 straight road wins, 18 straight wins in October, and 13 straight Pac-10 road wins. USC did manage to preserve their streak of an NCAA record 59 straight games of scoring more than 20 points. But that stat will certainly not console the Trojans, who lost more than just than the game - they lost control of their destiny.
The loss dropped USC in the Associated Press and Coaches' Polls and, more importantly, the Bowl Championship Series standings. USC also falls out of first place in the Pac-10 standings, dropping to 4-1 in the conference - one game behind Cal.
The Trojans have looked shaky in recent weeks, with close calls in their previous three games, winning by seven points or less against Washington State, Washington and Arizona State. Though USC was ranked No. 3 in the polls, many pundits felt that this year's version of the Trojans lacked the elite firepower and quality that had been present in the previous three teams. Those three teams won two national championships and were runners-up to the University of Texas last year.
The Trojans, who perennially supply the NFL with several top prospects, have found ways to retool and return the following year as tough as ever. However, no one can replace players like Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart without losing some production. This is exactly what happened this year to the Trojans, whose stats are well below last year's levels in almost every offensive statistical category.
Now at 6-1, the Trojans know their only hope is to run the table the rest of the way. But they face the toughest stretch of their schedule in November, with games against No. 25 Oregon, No. 12 Cal, and No. 11 Notre Dame in successive weeks.
USC is now part of a pack of several one-loss teams that are hoping for some sort of break like the one those teams received this weekend with USC's loss. This group includes a large contingent of Southeastern Conference squads, with the SEC's No. 7 Auburn, No. 8 Tennessee, No. 9 Florida, and No. 13 Arkansas all at one loss.
The biggest beneficiary of USC's loss may be the winner of the game between the two undefeated Big East teams, No. 4 West Virginia and No. 6 Louisville, who are set to face off Thursday.
With an epic match-up between the No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes and No. 2 Michigan Wolverines coming up on Nov. 18, one of those Big East teams seems destined to finish undefeated, which could place them in the national title game. Of course, this is purely speculation, and there is still plenty of exciting football left to play, which will certainly shape the national championship picture.
