WHAT YOU SAW, OR MAYBE DIDN'T, WAS USC IN A FOG.

Byline: STEVE DILBECK

CORVALLIS, Ore. - That was one of the strangest games ever seen, or half-seen, or partially seen.

It was like trying to watch a game through a fogged-up windshield. You kept looking for the defrost button.

You could say I watched the game in a fog, but that hardly made me unique Saturday night at Oregon State.

The fog hung heavy over Reser Stadium, or at least that part you could view, giving the entire game a surreal quality, like all the elements were conspiring for a stunning upset of the unbeaten, top-ranked Trojans.

Freezing cold - hail, rain, rain - in Washington last week, the Trojans could handle.

A few low clouds - OK, a never-ending stream - and the Trojans became all discombobulated.

``It added some mystique,'' linebacker Lofa Tatupu said. ``It's always something new. We enjoy different things.''

They looked confused, rattled by the mist. Players dropped balls. USC had the wrong number of players on the field. People ran into each other, or possibly, off the fog.

The offense looked like it was trying to play blindfolded. Eleven guys feeling their way through Reser Stadium.

The fog settled into the entire area with the setting sun, and by game time the people sitting on one side of the stadium couldn't see those on the other.

It gave the game an eerie presence, like a thousand Hollywood fog machines run amok. You half waited for the dark-figured guy to emerge with a bloody ax in his hands.

With Oregon State dressed in its home orange-and-black colors, the only thing missing was playing the game on Halloween.

``It was like playing in a cloud,'' USC coach Pete Carroll said.

If the view was slightly better from on the field, there was still an unnatural feel to the entire evening. Odd pieces falling into place, conspiring for an ... upset?

If the Trojans, feeling all mighty with their unbeaten streak and No. 1 ranking, were taking the Beavers a tad lightly, it was a serious mistake.

The Beavers came in 4-4, but all four losses came to teams ranked in the top 25 - at No. 17 LSU, at No. 16 Boise State, at No. 23 Arizona State and against No. 4 Cal.

Carroll tried to convince his Trojans to take the Beavers seriously since they had won their previous three games and are typically tough at home.

And if in their little heart of hearts they knew Carroll was correct, they still looked like a team having trouble getting up for the Beavers.

Or at least finding them.

Reggie Bush fumbled a punt somewhere in a cloud in the first quarter, OSU recovered at the USC 18 and turned it into a field goal.

``It was definitely different,'' Bush said. ``It was hard to catch the ball.''

USC's offense, apparently having trouble navigating through the soup, went three-and-out for the second consecutive time, and with quarterback Derek Anderson throwing darts through the fog, the Beavers drove to a second field goal and a 6-0 lead.

The Trojans offense continued to play like it was into this Halloween theme, as if masquerading as the Washington Huskies.

When Anderson found Marcel Love for an 8-yard touchdown in the second quarter, it was 13-0 Oregon State and things were getting plain spooky.

The fog broke briefly in the second quarter, and, lo and behold, there was another half to Reser Stadium.

That must have motivated the Trojans, who finally put together a real drive, tight end Dominique Byrd pulling down an 18-yard touchdown pass from Matt Leinart with a beautiful, one-handed catch.

``I thought it was pretty cool out there,'' Byrd said. ``I come from Minnesota. I've played in blizzards, so this is nothing.''

The fog came rolling back, and the results of play from afar continued to be a guessing game.

At least the Beavers had the Trojans' attention now, and another TD pass to an uncovered Byrd put USC up 14-13.

The electric Bush returned a punt 65 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to put the Trojans up 21-13, and at least things appeared to be returning to a planet not controlled by Rod Serling.

``It was really a magical night,'' Carroll said. ``Just an unusual night of football.''

LenDale White added another TD on a 5-yard run, and the guy with the ax slipped back into the fog.

The Beavers scored once more, but now, despite the dreamlike setting, the game finally felt familiar with the Trojans again controlling the second half.

``I'm glad this cloud had a silver lining,'' Carroll said.

At least the part that could be seen.