So this isn't the first time that USC has lost. But this was the most shocking. A lot of people have said that the only team the Trojans would lose to is themselves. But on Thursday night, Oregon State took USC to the woodshed in a way that no team has since Pete Carroll's first year. The Beavers dominated both sides of the ball, creating huge holes for Jacquizz Rodgers to run through while forcing Mark Sanchez to throw under pressure and prevent USC from getting any momentum going with the run game. Usually USC loses because of turnovers and dumb penalties. This time, it was just being outcoached. The Trojans made no adjustments on defense to stop the Beavers' run game and could not get pressure on Oregon State QB Lyle Moevao all night. Oh well, so much for National Championship aspirations. There's no way a one loss USC team (best case scenario, mind you) goes to Miami over even a two loss SEC or Big 12 team. Those leagues are stacked right now. Anyway, here's thand e weekly Pac-10 rankings:
- USC (2-1, 0-1) - They are still the best team in the conference, talentwise. There's no way the Trojans should have been pushed around like they were in Corvalis. Hopefully they can get back on track against Oregon and their 11th string QB. Carroll always says the Rose Bowl is USC's goal every year, but this seemed like the year like the Trojans were going to run the table.
- California (3-1, 1-0) - Cal rebounded well against Colorado State and looks to be back on the right track. If they beat Arizona State next week, they should be back in the driver's seat for the conference title.
- Oregon (4-1, 2-0) - Yeah, they beat up Wazzu today, but USC should be fired up for the game next week in the Coliseum. Oregon should be ranked after all of the upsets today, and having their 5th string QB in there should help them as the Trojans will probably be a little more relaxed and not able to gameplan for him as much. Seriously, the Ducks do have a good chance of being the first team in a while to knock off USC in two consecutive years.
- Arizona (3-1, 1-0) - Drops a spot due to the bye and Oregon dominating Wazzu. But they should get win #4 next week against Washington and will be well on their way to being bowl bound.
- Stanford (3-2, 2-1) - Riding high into their game against Notre Dame next week. Good win over a Washington team that desperately needed to get one.
- Oregon State (2-2, 1-1) - Hopefully the Beavers can carry the momentum of the upset to finish strong again this year. Though huge letdown game against Utah looms on Thursday again.
- Arizona State (2-2, 1-0) - Two game losing streak doesn't bode well, and neither does a road trip to Berekely.
- UCLA (1-3, 0-1) - Fresno State made the Bruins pay for their fumble in the red zone, as after recovering the fumble, the Bulldogs never gave the ball back.UCLA continues to look scrappy, and if they are within striking distance in the fourth quarter, they are a very dangerous team. UCLA should close their three game homestand with a win over Wazzu, but the Bruins also shouldn't have beaten Tennessee or lost by 59 to BYU, so we'll see what happens.
- Washington (0-4, 0-2) - The Cougs may have a win, but at least the Huskies are, for the most part, competitive in all of their games. Though it is hard to find a game where Washington will be favored to win the rest of the season.
- Washington State (1-4, 0-2) - The Portland State game got them in the win column, but Wazzu has lost their four games by an average of 41.2 points per game, with the big ones coming in Pac-10 play. Ouch.
And the reshuffled top 25...
- Oklahoma (4-0)
- Louisiana State (4-0)
- Alabama (5-0)
- Texas (4-0)
- Missouri (4-0)
- Penn State (5-0)
- Brigham Young (4-0)
- South Florida (5-0)
- Texas Tech (4-0)
- Georgia (4-1)
- Florida (3-1)
- USC (2-1)
- Auburn (4-1)
- Ohio State (4-1)
- Utah (5-0)
- Kansas (3-1)
- Vanderbilt (4-0)
- Wisconsin (3-1)
- Connecticut (5-0)
- Boise State (3-0)
- Oregon (4-1)
- Tulsa (4-0)
- Ball State (5-0)
- Northwestern (5-0)
- Wake Forest (3-1)
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