USC’s loss to Oregon State: The morning after
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Every sports outlet in the country seems to have plenty of reaction to USC’s stunning upset at Oregon State on Thursday night, and many comments aren’t too flattering of the Trojans. A sampling:
From columnist John Canzano of the Oregonian newspaper in Portland, writing about the 186-yard rushing performance of 5-foot-7 running back Jacquizz Rodgers, a freshman who didn’t get a sniff from USC recruiters :
This was a night that couldn’t be spoiled. It belonged to Oregon State. But it was delivered by the guy USC didn’t bother to recruit because it didn’t think he was good enough. Rodgers, who endured lots of trash talk about his size from USC players during the game, said, ‘I didn’t feel like I had their respect, even by the end of the game. ‘It’s something you have to earn, I guess.’
ESPN.com’s Ted Miller had a harsh evaluation for USC and the Pacific 10 Conference in his column on the game. This one seems just a bit over the top:
It means lessons from 2007 about no gimmes in college football weren’t learned.It means a team needs to exhibit more than talent alone if it wants to compete for a national championship. It means the Pac-10’s shocking spiral into the muck of irrelevancy is complete.
And Dennis Dodd of CBSSports.com was even harsher in his evaluation of the Trojans:
The heartening thing is in USC’s world, this was no monster upset. Oregon State was only a 25-point underdog Thursday night to the Trojans. Stanford, now that was an upset. And part of a disturbing trend. The No. 1 Trojans just ruined their national championship chase with another inexplicable gag job against an inferior opponent.
Ruined their national championship chase? That’s an overstatement in the fourth game of the regular season. Teams from the Southeastern Conference and Big 12 may face tougher competition the rest of the season than USC will in the Pac-10, something that will help their Bowl Championship Series rankings. But as any student of the BCS knows, late losses are more hurtful than early ones.
USC’s title hopes certainly took a hit. But over? Not yet.
--Mike James