When the 2008 college football season began, the USC Trojans found themselves among the top five teams in the nation in just about every preseason poll.
Projected to be one of the best defensive teams in recent memory, the Trojans were set for another national title run under head coach Pete Carroll.
Although defense was their perceived strength, the offense looked to be explosive as well, featuring talents such as quarterback Mark Sanchez and Joe McKnight at running back.
Even with multiple injuries to McKnight, who was playing well before missing time, USC has lived up to their billing on offense, averaging 38.4 points and 451 total yards of offense per game.
The defense has performed even better, surrendering only 8.3 points and 222.5 yards per contest, ranking second in the nation in total defense.
With numbers like that, you would expect USC to be right in the thick of the national championship picture.
Well, they are—sort of.
Despite their No. 5 ranking in the BCS standings, their situation is muddled at this point.
USC does not control their own destiny.
The Oregon State Beavers do.
When looking at Oregon State, the average fan probably does not expect much and is most likely unaware of the Beavers' current state.
The No. 17 Beavers, led by head coach Mike Riley, boast a record of 8-3 (7-1, Pac-10) and are tied with USC for first place in the Pac-10 conference.
However, with sloppy losses to Stanford and Penn State to start the season, it seems like Oregon State should be struggling to become bowl-eligible, let alone contending for a conference title.
Yet, the Beavers were able to right the ship when the then-No. 1 Trojans cruised into Corvallis, Ore. after beating Ohio State handily the week before.
That night, USC’s national championship hopes would be thwarted in one of the biggest surprises of the season.
Oregon State was able to catch the Trojans off guard, racing out to a 21-0 halftime lead.
Not surprisingly, USC made a late comeback, but the Beaver defense held on, preserving a 27-21 victory over the No. 1 team in the country.
Just like that, the Trojans had dug themselves into a hole in both the Pac-10 and national championship races.
As a result of their shocking win, the Beavers would now own a tiebreaker over USC should both teams end up tied in the final Pac-10 standings.
Despite the disappointment of their unexpected loss, USC fought on, annihilating just about every opponent that got in their way.
Unfortunately for Carroll’s football team, the Beavers refused to lose in conference play, rattling off six straight victories over Pac-10 opponents.
comments (1) write a comment »
write a new comment
about 1 month ago
It's surprising how this has turned out. I assumed USC would be alock to win the Pac-10 in 2008. I guess that's just college football messing with its fans again. Great read.
write a new comment