The Weekly Rehash

Oregon State 33, USC 31
Well, a USC loss had to happen sooner or later. But most people were expecting Cal or Oregon to put one over the Trojans, not Oregon State. Despite three bad first half turnovers, USC was only down by six going into the third quarter. But the third quarter was when things started clicking for the Beavers. They scored 17 points in a row off a solid touchdown drive, a punt return and a field goal after another USC turnover. By then, the Beavers had a 23 point lead and it looked like USC was down for the count. But the Trojans bounced back and despite turning the ball over on downs inside the red zone, JD Booty and Steve Smith still managed to score the game’s next 21 points and come within two points of tying the game. Jeff Van Orsow saved the game for the Beavers, as he tipped Booty’s two-point conversion pass at the line of scrimmage and kept USC from tying the game. After the onside kick was recovered by OSU, the Trojan win streak was over and Cal moved into the driver’s seat for the Rose Bowl.

The Trojan pass rush showed up for the first time since playing Arizona, outsacking Oregon State’s conference leading pass rush, 6 to 2 (Also, it would be nice for USC fans if Lawrence Jackson would show up this season. After recording 10 sacks last year, he still hasn’t gotten to the quarterback once this year). In the end though, it didn’t matter how well the USC defense played, the offensive mistakes consistently gave the Beavers a short field to work with and they took advantage of it. Matt Moore had a solid game, Clinton Polk was a more than adequate replacement for Yvenson Bernard, and Sammie Stroughter could barely be touched by the Trojans.

Going into this game, you would never have predicted that Booty would turn the ball over more than Matt Moore, Clinton Polk would outgain the entire Trojan backfield in his first collegiate start, and that USC would leave Corvallis with a negative turnover margin on the year. After finishing in the top 5 nationally in turnover margin the last five seasons, USC now ranks 71^st in turnover margin.

So what we’ve seen from USC so far this year is that they have a more consistent defense than last season, but the secondary is young and they don’t create turnovers. The offense has been steady, yet unspectacular without the big plays of Reggie Bush. Those two issues go hand in hand. When the offense was crazy good and teams were always playing catch up, USC was forcing teams to make more dangerous throws and they were getting 40 turnovers a year. This year, the Trojans haven’t gotten out to a big lead against anyone since taking a 23 point lead into the fourth quarter against the Razorbacks. That means teams don’t have to be overly aggressive on offense to stay in the game and USC hasn’t done anything to convince teams otherwise. Now the question is whether or not the Trojans will even cover the 29 point spread against Stanford next week. On the bright side, USC scored 20 points in their 59^th straight game. How pointless is that streak. They also get a chance to rebound against Stanford before beginning the brutal final four games of their schedule.

MVP: Steve Smith – 11 receptions for 258 yards and 2 TDs

Washington State 37, UCLA 15
Washington State looks better and better every week, don’t they? At least the Bruins kept it close in the first half, going into the break with a 15-14 lead. Once the third quarter started though, this game was all Cougars. All told, WSU dominated UCLA in every phase of the game. They outgained the Bruins 515 to 326, converted 3 of their 4 fourth down conversions and had the ball for 14 more minutes than UCLA. Alex Brink had another monster day with 405 passing yards and three touchdowns, and now leads the Pac-10 in passing yards. He also remembered that Jason Hill is a pretty capable receiver and actually got him the ball enough for his second 100-yard game this season.

For UCLA, it looks like it’s still impossible to tell which defense is going to show up: Notre Dame at home gets their offense pretty much shut down, WSU’s offense on the road goes berserk. One thing the Bruins can count on: kicker Justin Medlock. He took over the conference lead in scoring with nine more points against the Cougars. He has been absolute money for the Bruins this year, hitting on 90% of his attempts. Given how poor UCLA has been at scoring touchdowns, it’s not a good sign for the Bruins that Medlock has already tied his career high in field goal attempts. Hey, at least the Lou Groza Award may be in his future.

MVP: Alex Brink – 28 of 38 for 405 yards and 3 TDs

Arizona State 26, Washington 23
The Huskies did it again. A week after taking Cal to overtime, they took Arizona State into an extra session as well. And just like Cal, the Sun Devils scored on their second play of overtime to tame the Huskies. Rudy Carpenter had another very efficient game passing the ball, though he let Ryan Torain and Keegan Herring carry the bulk of the offense. The defense played well too, forcing Carl Bonnell to throw two interceptions before getting hurt and limiting the Huskies to only 274 yards.

So why was this game so close? A trick play touchdown on a pass from UW receiver Sonny Shackleford and ASU’s 16 penalties for 127 yards. Good god, Dirk. Have you instilled no discipline in your team? 127 penalty yards? I didn’t know Husky Stadium was that much of a home field advantage. But that advantage isn’t working, as Washington continues to fall. After busting out of the gate with a 4-1 record, they now sit at 4-5 and without Isaiah Stanback, probably won’t make a bowl game this year. Next year Ty and Co. should have something to show the Pac-10.

MVP: Keegan Herring – 6 carries for 98 yards and 2 TDs, 3 receptions for 43 yards

Oregon 55, Portland State 12
Even with a dominating victory, it’s hard to tell what the state of your team is when you play 1-AA schools. Oregon looked fairly solid, though the run D could have been a little better. The Ducks continue to score a lot of points and posted another 400 yard day on offense, but they had a dozen penalties and Dennis Dixon only completed 56% of his passes, his lowest mark of the season. Jeremiah Johnson and Jaison Williams each had big games, and Oregon got contributions in this game from pretty much everyone on the roster. The Ducks have to feel better after rebounding from their loss to the Cougars, but they still have a tough UW team to play, a visit to USC and the Civil War. It's going to be a rough November for the Ducks.

MVP: Jeremiah Johnson – 17 carries for 86 yards and 3 TDs, 2 receptions for 23 yards.

The Pac-10 Apostle’s Disciple of the Week

Once again, this goes to player who had the biggest effect on the biggest victory in the Pac-10 this week, so obviously it must be going to a Beaver.

Stroughter had a punt return for a TD and caught 8 passes for 123 yards en route to the Beavers 33-31 upset of USC. He was pretty much invincible against the Trojan secondary and wasn't even touched on his punt return. Congratulations Sammie, you're the Disciple of the Week.