A TROJAN NIGHTCAP; OREGON STATE PROVIDES PROBLEMS UNTIL THE END : USC 40, OREGON STATE 20.Byline: Scott Wolf Scott Richard Wolf (born June 4, 1968) is an American actor. Born in Boston, Massachusetts to Steven Wolf and Susan Enowitch, Wolf was raised in West Orange, New Jersey. He graduated in 1986 from West Orange High School. Daily News Staff Writer Every time USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. schedules a night game, there's the complaint that East Coast viewers - and poll voters - never get a chance to watch the Trojans. Sometimes, it turns out to be a blessing. Like Saturday night. The Trojans struggled mightily with usual patsy Oregon State at the Coliseum before defeating the Beavers 40-20 before 45,629. It was a lot closer than the score indicated - USC added its final 17 points in the last 2:11 of the contest. After defeating Oregon State 24 straight times since 1967, the Trojans (3-0) were in real danger of ending their Pacific-10 Conference The Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) is a college athletic conference which operates in the western United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I. Membership Full members record streak for consecutive victories over an opponent. Worse, the Beavers had not actually defeated USC at the Coliseum since 1960. No matter the end result, it was clear that this was no normal Oregon State team that former USC assistant Mike Riley
That especially became apparent when ex-quarterback Tim Alexander Tim "Herb" Alexander (born April 10, 1965 in Cherry Point, North Carolina) is an American musician, best known as the drummer for the rock band Primus. Tim played on the Primus recordings Suck on This, Frizzle Fry, Sailing the Seas of Cheese, returned the second-half kickoff 100 yards to tie the game, 17-17. ``That was a tough pill for us to swallow and I felt we did an outstanding job of not letting that affect us,'' USC coach Paul Hackett said. ``Once again, in the fourth quarter, I thought we played our best football. I thought our defense played very, very well.'' Unlike most USC-Oregon State encounters, this one had a competitive feel the entire way until the Beavers got desperate and made some mistakes in the final minutes. ``I feel kind of bad how the game got away at the end,'' Riley said. ``We were trying to steal one at the end and we had an opportunity to still go for the win.'' The Trojans had to take advantage of a fumble by Oregon State's Ken Simonton on a punt return In American and Canadian football a punt return is one of the punt receiving team's options to respond to a punt. A player (usually a second or third string wide receiver or running back) positioned many yards from the line of scrimmage will attempt to catch or pick up the ball , just to forge ahead 20-17 with 11:03 remaining in the third quarter. Kicker Adam Abrams added a field goal, this one from 33 yards, at the start of the fourth quarter to give USC a 23-17 lead. But the Beavers cut the deficit to 23-20, before the Trojans ran off the final 17 points. Other than tailback Chad Morton Chad Morton (born April 4, 1977 in Torrance, California) is an American football running back and kick/punt returner who is currently a free agent in the National Football League. , who rushed for 123 yards, USC's offense was inconsistent. The special teams were forced to provide a lift early for the Trojans. Locked in a 7-7 tie early in the second quarter, walk-on Danny Bravo broke through the line and blocked Mike Fessler's punt. The ball rolled into the end zone and was recovered by Rashard Cook Rashard Cook (born April 18, 1977 in San Diego, California) is a former professional American football safety in the NFL. Professional career Cook was selected by the Chicago Bears in the sixth round of the 1999 NFL Draft with the 184th overall pick. to give the Trojans a 14-7 lead. It was the second straight game the Trojans blocked a punt. The Trojans' special teams also rebounded in the kicking game, as Abrams converted a 33-yard field goal in the second quarter to stretch USC's lead to 17-7. Abrams, who was 4 for 4, had gone 0 for 3 on field goals last week after making 12 straight. Oregon State (2-1) answered by driving 63 yards before stalling at the USC 11-yard line. Jose Cortez kicked a 28-yard field goal with 47 seconds left in the half to cut the lead to 17-10. USC appeared to have ended that drive when Cook intercepted a pass in the end zone, but the Trojans were penalized pe·nal·ize tr.v. pe·nal·ized, pe·nal·iz·ing, pe·nal·iz·es 1. To subject to a penalty, especially for infringement of a law or official regulation. See Synonyms at punish. 2. for roughing the passer. As promised, Hackett inserted freshman quarterback Carson Palmer Carson Palmer (born December 27, 1979 in Fresno, California), is an American football quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League. He attended the University of Southern California, where he won the Heisman Trophy Award in 2002 in his senior season. with just under seven minutes left in the first half, but Palmer got little protection in his opening series and failed to complete a pass. There wasn't an electrifying e·lec·tri·fy tr.v. e·lec·tri·fied, e·lec·tri·fy·ing, e·lec·tri·fies 1. To produce electric charge on or in (a conductor). 2. a. start for USC wide receiver R. Jay Soward Rodney (R.) Jay Soward (born January 16, 1978 in Rialto, California) is a football player who most recently played for the CFL's Toronto Argonauts as a wide receiver. College career He burst onto the college football scene with a 4-TD game vs. , either after he thrilled the fans in his debut against San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. State when he tallied 256 total yards. Soward fumbled a punt return in the first quarter and Oregon State's Darnell Robinson recovered at the Trojans' 27-yard line. Nine plays later, Oregon State quarterback Terrance Bryant found James Battle in the end zone on a 5-yard touchdown pass to tie the game, 7-7. Cook actually tipped the ball in the end zone, before Battle caught it. Prior to Soward's turnover, the Trojans had been off to a flawless start. USC needed less than two minutes to start the scoring. After Hackett said the Trojans needed to throw deep more often, they did, as Mike Van Raaphorst hit Larry Parker on a 47-yard scoring pass. It was Parker's first career touchdown in four seasons, and gave USC a 7-0 lead just 1:42 into the game. DECADE OF DOMINANCE Since 1990, USC has defeated Oregon State seven straight times and outscored the Beavers 254-82. Here is a list of scores: Year Winning team Score 1990 USC 56-7 1993 USC 34-9 1994 USC 27-19 1995 USC 28-10 1996 USC 46-17 1997 USC 23-0 1998 USC 40-20 Note: The last time Oregon State beat USC was in 1967. The score was 3-0. USC vs. OREGON STATE: A CLOSER LOOK THE HERO USC safety Danny Bravo. The walk-on made the play of the first half by blocking a punt that was recovered in the end zone by safety Rashard Cook to give USC a 14-7 lead. THE GOAT Oregon State quarterback Terrance Bryant. He demonstrated that the Beavers are still far from being the passing team Mike Riley wants, especially by completing just 19 of 46 passes for 101 yards. QUOTE OF THE GAME ``I told the team, `Are we going to be like last year, or be a team that takes care of itself?' '' - USC coach Paul Hackett. NOTEBOOK: McGwire may make Coliseum appearance He's a little busy at the moment, but USC officials are trying to convince St. Louis Cardinals For the National Football League team that played in St. Louis from 1960 to 1987, see . The St. Louis Cardinals (also referred to as "the Cards" or "the Redbirds") are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. slugger Mark McGwire USC would like McGwire to participate in the pregame coin toss. McGwire also would be honored for breaking Roger Maris' single-season home run record. There is still no word on whether McGwire will accept the invitation. The USC baseball team, which won the NCAA NCAA abbr. National Collegiate Athletic Association championship in June, will also be honored during a game later this season. Making history: USC coach Paul Hackett became just the third Trojans coach since 1915 to win his first three games. Hackett joins Jess Hill Jesse Terrill Hill (January 20 1907 - August 31 1993) was an American athlete, coach and college administrator who was best known for his tenure as a coach and athletic director at the University of Southern California. His career spanned six decades. , who went 7-0 in 1951, and Howard Jones, who was 4-0 en route to an 11-2 season in 1925. Line firms up: The USC offensive line, which had shuffled several players in and out of most positions the first two games, had considerably less substitutions against Oregon State. The core group consisted of Brent McCaffrey, David Pratchard, Jason Grain, Travis Claridge and Matt Welch. Time for Iacenda: USC fullback Ted Iacenda got to do more than block for a change in the first half. Iacenda had a 6-yard run and caught a 16-yard pass. He also started his second straight game. First-game starter Brennan Ochs played behind Iacenda and No. 2 fullback Marvin Powell. Fox debuts: With starter Antoine Harris nursing a sore ankle, former quarterback John Fox made his first appearance of the season at tight end. Fox was inserted during a double-tight end formation. Early visitor: Among those on the Coliseum field before the game was Alemany High quarterback Casey Clausen. It's a little too soon to ponder Clausen's future, however, since he is only a junior. Run of the night: The longest play of the game occurred in the second quarter, when a dog appeared in the north end zone and sprinted the length of the field before departing through a fence behind the south end zone. Play was briefly stopped during the run. California touch: Oregon State has 49 players from California. USC has no players from Oregon. - Scott Wolf CAPTION(S): 3 Photos, 2 Boxes PHOTO (1--Color) USC's R. Jay Soward drops a pass deep in Trojans territory as Oregon State's Amon Hatcher defends. (2) USC's Ifeanyi Ohalete breaks up a pass intended for Oregon State's Greg Ainsworth during the first quarter at the Coliseum. (3) USC's R. Jay Soward can't hang on to a pass as Oregon State's Jake Cookus gives chase in the first quarter of Saturday's game. David Crane/Daily News BOX: (1) DECADE OF DOMINANCE (see text) (2) USC vs. OREGON STATE: A CLOSER LOOK (see text) |
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