I don’t know what it is about Reser Stadium, but nothing seems to go USC’s way when the Trojans play in Corvallis. Saturday marked USC’s third straight loss on the road to Oregon State, but at least the first two losses were close.
Coming off their best win of the season, an upset win over then-ranked Arizona, the Trojans responded with their most dismal offensive showing of the season, losing to the Beavers, 36-7.
The offense, which had buoyed the team all season as the defense struggled, hit a roadblock, gaining just 255 total yards. Even worse is what the Trojans lost on offense: an interception (returned for an OSU touchdown), a starting running back, and most significantly, the starting quarterback.
USC starting quarterback Matt Barkley watched the second half of the game at Oregon State from the sidelines after sustaining a high ankle sprain late in the first half.
Matt Barkley left the game with a high ankle sprain at the end of the second quarter with USC down, 20-0. He threw for only 75 yards on the night – not including the 65-yard interception he threw to Oregon State’s Jordan Poyer for a touchdown.
The interception, one of the first plays of the second quarter, was a game-changer. Oregon State had just scored a field goal a few minutes earlier to put them on the board, up 3-0, and the teams were evenly matched in yards, plays, and yards per play through the first quarter. The pick-six ignited the crowd and started the Beavers on a run that continued for the rest of the game.
Another key mistake came just a few possessions later, when Oregon State called a fake punt on fourth-and-long. The pass was incomplete but a pass interference call on Nickell Robey put the Beavers inside the red zone and two plays later, Jacquizz Rodgers walked into the end zone untouched. Though they’d done a fair job stopping the undersized but overpowering running back up to that point, not one Trojan saw him until he had his arms raised to celebrate.
With Oregon State up, 17-0, USC was still unable to make anything happen on offense. Barkley struggled getting the ball to his receivers, and when he did, they struggled to hang on. Generally reliable Ronald Johnson made just his second catch of the night midway through the second quarter but fumbled when he was hit; fortunately USC jumped on the ball. A few plays later, Allen Bradford, whose playing time has dwindled because of ball control problems, fumbled a pitch for a loss of yards, but thankfully retained possession.
USC’s offensive options were more limited after Tyler went down in the second quarter after re-injuring his ankle. With Dillon Baxter back in L.A., ineligible thanks to a golf cart ride from a student-agent, USC had to rely on Bradford, whose butter fingers kept him off the field, and C.J. Gable, who finally saw significant playing time in the second half. Gable led the team with 10 carries for 57 yards and the Trojans’ only touchdown of the game.
Meanwhile, Matt Barkley watched the second half from the sidelines on crutches and wearing a boot as fifth-year senior Mitch Mustain finally got his chance to run the offense. It’s not easy for a quarterback to be thrown into a game on short notice (no notice, really), primarily when his main role all season has been as the holder on special teams and his team is already down by twenty. Mustain, unsurprisingly given the circumstances, was not sharp; he wasn’t the reason USC played so poorly and lost, but he didn’t do anything spectacular to get them back in the game, either.
Neither did the rest of the team. After going three-and-out to start the second half, the USC defense got to Beavers’ quarterback Ryan Katz for the sack. He fumbled the ball when he was hit and it looked like Nick Perry would recover it and give the Trojans excellent field position, but it was just out of his grasp and the Beavers recovered. It forced an OSU punt, but USC couldn’t make anything happen either. They punted right back to the Beavers, who drove down the field for a field goal.
Oregon State kicker Justin Kahut made three field goals for the Beavers, equaling his season total heading into the game. USC’s own weaknesses in the kicking game also impacted their game plan. The Trojans tried to convert on fourth down in a few situations where they might’ve opted for a field goal and three points if they had a reliable kicker, making only two of their six fourth-down conversion attempts.
USC kicker Joe Houston only saw the field once, when he kicked the extra point after the Trojans’ lone touchdown in the third quarter. Two completed passes to Ronald Johnson and a defensive holding penalty on Oregon State moved the Trojans down the field and allowed Gable to carry three times in a row for 19 yards and the touchdown. USC lined up to go for two, but a false start penalty pushed the Trojans back five yards and forced the PAT.
The Trojans were unable to get near the end zone for the rest of the game, but Oregon State had no problem finding it in the fourth quarter. USC’s defense has struggled late in games all season, and this week was no exception. Jacquizz Rodgers continued to be the workhorse for the Beavers; he didn’t break out on as many big gains as he has in the past, but his carries for short yardage steadily moved them down the field. OSU receiver Markus Wheaton had over 100 yards in total offense, and receivers Jordan Bishop and Joe Halahuni caught fourth quarter touchdowns to widen the Beavers’ lead.
With the loss, USC falls to 4-4 in the Pac-10 and 7-4 overall, with no chance of a 10-win season. The Trojans face Notre Dame at home the Friday after Thanksgiving and close the season against UCLA in the Rose Bowl.
