Man, this was a hell of a game—a heavy weight slug fest. Who would have thought that USC and Oregon State, two teams that have been averaging 50 and 45 points a game respectively would be sitting on a 7-3 score at the end of three quarters–with the Beavers on top. Reser Stadium in Corvallis was rocking and with Oregon State still up 14-10 with just over four minutes to play the fans could taste the win—ready to run down to the field and celebrate their team’s victory over the No. 7 Trojans. Ready to celebrate finally being recognized for having a program that is relevant and can compete with the very best. But it wasn’t to be, and in the end it was too many mistakes and USC’s penchant for defensive take-aways that did them in. Lincoln Riley got his fourth win in a row—but just barely.
USC QB Caleb Williams who came into the game averaging almost 300 yards over their first three contests and had thrown 8 TD’s only managed 180 yards and 1 TD in this one, but it was a big one. As the AP describes it in their Recap for ESPN; “Caleb Williams found his favorite target when it mattered most [after leading] an 11-play, 84-yard drive — and even scrambling on a fourth down that preserved it. Jordan Addison caught Williams’ go-ahead 21-yard touchdown pass with 1:13 left and No. 7 USC overcame a shaky performance for a 17-14 victory against Oregon State on Saturday night.”
Having an in-state rival from the Oregon Ducks who transferred through the portal to USC after the Lincoln Riley hire figure so prominently in the game probably added a little salt to the wound as Trojan Senior RB Travis Dye rushed for 75% of the Trojans yards on the ground, picking up 133 yards and a TD on 19 carries. That, added to Williams’ TD to Addison and a field goal by Freshman Place Kicker Denis Lynch was all the scoring USC needed in this one. There was only 30 seconds difference in time-of-possession between the teams, they were both penalized six times and USC, in the end, did have the edge in 1st Downs and Total Yards, but not by much in either category. The game’s most costly and glaring difference was in turnovers, Oregon had four while the Trojans had none.
With both Oregon State and Washington State loosing by just three to ranked opponents this week I’m hoping to see them in the Top 25 when the latest poll comes out, especially since both teams received quite a few votes last week. We’ll just have to see. It doesn’t get any easier for the Beavers as they go on the road to Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake for an early game against Utah. The Trojans should have an easier time of it as they head back home to the Coliseum to play host to the struggling Arizona State Sun Devils–a program in free-fall.