LEAVE IT TO BEAVERS USC RALLY COMES UP SHORT AS LATE TWO-POINT CONVERSION FAILS OREGON STATE 33, NO. 3 USC 31.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. Staff Writer CORVALLIS, Ore. -- Narrow victories masked many of USC's shortcomings A shortcoming is a character flaw. Shortcomings may also be:
But one of the problems that many had ignored came back to bite the Trojans at the worst possible moment, with national championship hopes still alive, the ball at the 3-yard line and quarterback John David Booty John David Booty (born January 3, 1985, in Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S.) is the starting quarterback of the University of Southern California (USC) football team. He is called "John David", and sometimes referred to as J.D., because his father's name is John. seeking his signature moment. Much like Matt Leinart Matthew Stephen Leinart (born May 11, 1983 in Santa Ana, California) is an American football quarterback (QB) for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League. He played college football for the University of Southern California Trojans, leading them to an AP national before him, Booty threw in the direction of All- American wide receiver Dwayne Jarrett Dwayne Jarrett (born September 11, 1986 in New Brunswick, New Jersey) is an American football wide receiver in the NFL for the Carolina Panthers. Early years Jarrett attended New Brunswick High School in New Brunswick, New Jersey. , but his two-point conversion In American football and Canadian football, a team may try to score a two-point conversion (score two points) instead of an extra point (one point) immediately after it scores a touchdown. pass was batted down at the line of scrimmage line of scrimmage n. pl. lines of scrimmage Football Either of two imaginary lines extending across the field parallel to the goal line at the ends of the ball as it rests prior to being snapped and at which each team lines up for by Oregon State defensive end Jeff Van Orsow. ``I just got it as a last-ditch effort,'' Van Orsow said. ``We saw he was throwing a low ball.'' The tipped pass preserved the Beavers' 33-31 victory over the No. 3 Trojans in front of 42,871 at Reser Stadium History and use The stadium was built in 1953 and named in honor of Portland businessman Charles T. Parker, who played a significant role in the initial fundraising. The stadium was renamed in 1999 to honor one of the school's major athletic donors, the Reser family, owners of on Saturday. Although it probably cost the Trojans their chance at playing for the national title and snapped a 27-game 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 winning streak, it also highlighted a blemish blem·ish n. A small circumscribed alteration of the skin considered to be unesthetic but insignificant. blemish that has existed for Booty since training camp: the tendency to throw passes that wind up being tipped. ``The guy was there and got his hand up,'' Booty said. Not that it was the sole reason for the loss. The Trojans fumbled the ball away and did not force any turnovers, two constants recently. They also had a special-teams lapse, let Oregon State quarterback Matt Moore dissect dissect /dis·sect/ (di-sekt´) (di-sekt´) 1. to cut apart, or separate. 2. to expose structures of a cadaver for anatomical study. dis·sect v. their zone defense and relied on some questionable play-calling. And even with these problems, USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. nearly overcame a 33-10 deficit before Booty's pass to Jarrett with seven seconds left fell incomplete. ``Coming into this game, it was David versus Goliath and we said we needed to chop off their head,'' said Oregon State wide receiver Sammie Stroughter, who returned a punt 70 yards for a touchdown. Actually, it seemed more like the Trojans played with one hand behind their backs. ``How do you go a month without getting a turnover? That's what it feels like,'' USC coach Pete Carroll said. ``They did a bunch of stuff we wish we could do, like take care of the ball. I didn't know the last time we (turned it over) four times.'' The last time USC committed four turnovers was during its 2003 loss to California in triple-overtime, the last regular-season and Pac-10 game the Trojans had lost before Saturday. Booty fumbled a snap and threw an interception in the end zone while tailback Chauncey Washington, hailed as the new workhorse two weeks ago, fumbled twice. Those turnovers led to three field goals for Oregon State, a key stat when you lose by two points. ``It was us,'' Booty said. ``It was all us. We caused it.'' Oregon State (5-3, 3-2) also put a serious dent in the idea that USC's final four games would be the real test of the season. ``They surprised me,'' USC linebacker Rey Maualuga said of the Beavers. ``I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. about the rest of the team, but they surprised me. They definitely were better than I thought.'' Or is USC (6-1, 4-1) worse? The Trojans weren't too caught up in the big picture after the game, with Carroll telling them a trip to the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Ariz., on Jan.8 is still possible. Maybe. Maybe not. But they were disgusted with their turnovers and inability to create any. USC has not intercepted a pass since Sept. 23 against Washington State, and that was on a Hail Mary pass A Hail Mary pass or Hail Mary play in American football is a forward pass made in desperation, with only a very small chance of success. The typical Hail Mary is a very long forward heave thrown at or near the end of a half where there is no realistic possibility for any to end the game. And the Trojans have not forced a turnover in a month. ``You have to think if you go five years beating people up and taking the ball away, at some point it's going to get hard,'' defensive end Lawrence Jackson said. Defensive coordinator Nick Holt, whose presence is suddenly an issue because Carroll used to run the defense, took some of the blame out of frustration. ``I'm not doing a good job coaching it,'' he said. ``The philosophy hasn't changed.'' Holt's defense also allowed Oregon State to score its most points against USC since 1914, in the teams' first meeting. Carroll said he is getting tired of discussing the turnover situation every week. ``We will always have a target on our back. It's very difficult and every week you have to go out and play beautiful football,'' he said. ``If you don't, than you are giving the football away and that makes it very difficult. I am disappointed in the uncharacteristic play where we are not taking the ball off our opponents.'' Another area of contention was the decision to throw a pass to Jarrett on the final two-point conversion attempt. With 12:09 left, USC scored on a 37-yard touchdown pass from Booty to Steve Smith that made it 33-23. Washington then easily ran the ball on the two-point conversion to cut the lead to 33-25. Washington said he wanted to do it again to send the game to overtime. ``I don't want to be selfish about it, it's up to the coaches,'' Washington said. ``I don't have any doubts I was going to push it in.'' Offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin defended the call: ``We're pretty excited about being able to throw the ball to Dwayne in one-on-one coverage.'' Lost amid the loss, Booty passed for 406 yards, the fifth-best performance in school history, and Smith finished with 258 yards receiving, just two yards shy of the USC record of 260 set by 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. against UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX in 1996. Soward's mark came in a double-overtime game. None of that mattered, though, because the Trojans fell short. ``It's definitely weird,'' Jarrett said. ``I've been here three years and lost two games.'' scott.wolf@dailynews.com (818) 713-3607 CAPTION(S): 4 photos, 2 boxes Photo: (1 -- color) USC's Chauncey Washington is upended by an Oregon State defender Saturday. The Trojans rushed for just 86 yards and committed four turnovers. (2 -- color) Oregon State quarterback Matt Moore (Hart High of Newhall) celebrates Saturday's victory. (3) USC wide receiver Steve Smith, right, caught 11 passes for 258 yards against Oregon State, but his effort was all for naught. Tom Hauck/Getty Images (4) USC quarterback John David Booty gets sacked by Oregon State's Jeff Van Orsow in the first quarter. Rick Bowmer/Associated Press Box: (1) BUSTED (2) ONE FOR THE BOOKS |
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