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Oregon State vs USC Recap

If you had told Mike Riley before Saturday night's game that his band of Beavers would ring up 36 points and 482 yards against USC's defense, he'd have taken such a scenario in a heartbeat.

But that's the problem with half-scenarios: They don't relate to the other side of the story.

Yes, Oregon State flatly dominated Pete Carroll's defense at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, embarrassing the unit that's carried the Men of Troy to six straight Pac-10 titles, plus a losing share of the league crown in 2002. Yet, for all their offensive excellence, the kids from Corvallis were eclipsed when the Trojans possessed the pigskin. Coach Riley might have loved the numbers Sean Canfield, Jacquizz Rodgers, and Joe Halahuni threw down in front of 89,718 observers, but his defense couldn't hold off USC's potent attack. As a result, the Beavers will have to be content with their performance, which once again scared the daylights of out of a preeminent college football powerhouse, but didn't claim the Trojan conquest registered last season at Reser Stadium.

Let's acknowledge the extent to which Oregon State's mighty and manful offense maxed out against Carroll, a premier defensive guru with an uncanny knack for making effective halftime adjustments. Much like last year, Oregon State didn't get terrifically fancy in its tussle with Troy's defense. Yes, Riley moved around Halahuni, his tight end, in ways that thoroughly flummoxed USC defenders; Halahuni hauled in nine passes for 127 yards on the evening and constantly succeeded on seam routes before SC safety Taylor Mays could provide help. With that said, OSU basically busted up its red-shirted and red-faced opponent by simply lining up, executing blocks, and physically punishing USC.

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The Beavers' line play was so consistently and markedly good that Canfield was able to throw most of his 43 passes with a considerable amount of comfort. Canfield doesn't have a cannon, but he surgically picked apart SC for 329 yards, completing 30 of those 43 throws and scoring three touchdowns without an interception. OSU's trench superiority extended to the ground game, too, as Jacquizz Rodgers once again torched the Trojans. One year after racking up 186 yards at Reser Stadium, the Quiz once again posed questions USC couldn't answer. The sophomore sensation romped for 113 yards on 20 carries, good for 5.7 yards a pop. As a point of comparison, the 186-yard coming-out-party in Rodgers's freshman season was built on the back of 37 carries, good for a 5.0-yard average per carry. It's true: on a per-play basis, James Rodgers's younger brother was even better tonight, and he was pretty darn awesome against USC last season. That's how badly OSU beat up USC on offense.

Alas, Oregon State proved to be toothless when Matt Barkley got his mitts on the ball.

Barkley, the true freshman quarterback who has captured the confidence and imagination of his coaching staff and teammates, played even better in this game than in the Trojans' win over Notre Dame on Oct. 17. Against the Fighting Irish, Barkley made throws to wide-open receivers on play action, when Notre Dame was expecting a running play. In this game, Barkley made impressive throws in passing situations, evading a pell-mell Beaver pass rush with dancing feet and extraordinary pocket presence before delivering a downfield dart. Barkley's excellence only opened up OSU's defense for the straight-ahead running of tailback Allen Bradford, who accumulated 147 yards and two scores on just 15 carries, good for 9.8 yards each time he touched the ball. Yes, for all that OSU achieved on one end of this encounter, USC did even more on the other side of the divide.

The Beavers get fabulous marks for their artistic excellence in Los Angeles, but they didn't get a passing grade for technical merit. Big numbers and prolific offensive efforts won USC's respect, but unfortunately, a big "36" didn't manage to "86" the big, bad Trojans.

By Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Staff Writer