USC can’t hold back Oregon State surge in historic loss at Coliseum
A personal foul penalty by USC’s Michael Triggs on the opening kickoff signaled to a Coliseum crowd itching for an impressive home debut for its new coach that these were instead just the same old, undisciplined Trojans.
Actually, it was much worse.
USC, spiraling from a coaching change and listless offense, reached more lows Saturday, losing to Oregon State 45-27. It was USC’s first loss to Oregon State in Los Angeles since 1960, ending a streak of 24 straight wins over the Beavers, a perennial conference doormat that has racked up seven straight losing seasons.
After those seven seasons of ineptitude, the Beavers (3-1, 1-0 Pac-12 Conference) racked up seven touchdowns on the Trojans, including five on consecutive drives that spanned the second, third and fourth quarters.
Donte Williams needed a miracle to be in the coaching mix; last night didn’t help
Well, we know who won’t be USC’s head coach next year.
Donte Williams’ minuscule chances of remaining in charge of the Trojans beyond this season were obliterated on Saturday night in a 45-27 defeat by Oregon State that was as historic as it was humiliating.
With USC presumably looking for a big-name coach, the assumption was that Williams had to perform a miracle to remove the interim label from his job description. Instead, he was responsible for a different kind of once-in-a-lifetime event, as the Trojans lost to the Beavers in Los Angeles for the first time since 1960.
That Williams is extremely likable or that his story is inspiring didn’t matter. That he preaches accountability didn’t matter.
It’s over: Oregon State defeats USC in L.A. for the first time in 61 years
OK, Jack Colletto just did something interesting
The game is decided, but Jack Colletto put an entertaining bow on it. His late interception of Kedon Slovis gives him the most interesting stat line of the night: two rushing touchdowns and a pick.
The final seconds are ticking off.
Oregon State crosses 300 rushing yards threshold
After a second unsuccessful onside kick, Oregon State passed 300 yards in rushing, 146 of which have come from B.J. Baylor. The Beavers have crossed midfield again and forced USC to dig into their timeouts.
Courtesy of the FS1 telecast, it has been 22,290 days since Oregon State last won at the Coliseum.
That was 12 Presidents ago.
Dwight David Eisenhower was the President then.
They called him Ike.
Trojans make it a two-possession game with second straight scoring drive
After Jaylin Smith’s pick gave the Trojans their first defensive stop since midway through the second quarter, Kedon Slovis had consecutive long completions to Tahj Washington (25 yards) and Drake London (29 yards) before the drive stalled.
A 46-yard field goal by Parker Lewis, however, made it a two-possession game.
Oregon State 42, USC 27, 6:29 left in fourth quarter
Keaontay Ingram rushes for his second TD, USC gets pick on next drive
After being outscored 35-3 since midway through the second quarter, the Trojans completed an 11-play, 75-yard drive with a three-yard rushing touchdown from Keaontay Ingram, his second TD of the night.
After an unsuccessful onside kick, the USC defense had its first stop in six drives when Jaylin Smith picked off a Jack Colletto pass and offered a flicker of possibility to some #Pac12AfterDark magic.
Oregon State 42, USC 24, 8:28 left in fourth quarter
Now it’s USC fans’ and alums’ turn to pile on
It wasn’t many hours ago that former USC safety Su’a Cravens was on the field interviewing Donte Williams.
Another former USC star added this log to the fire:
Oregon State goes to fourth quarter with big lead and threatening for more
In their home loss to Stanford two weeks ago, the Trojans went to the fourth quarter trailing 35-13.
Against Oregon State tonight, they go to the fourth quarter trailing 35-17 with Oregon State first and goal at the USC four.
In three quarters, the Beavers have piled up 267 rushing yards and 7.4 yards per carry.
On the second play of the fourth quarter Jack Colletto, working out of the Wildcat, ran for his second one-yard touchdown of the night.
It’s ugly.
Oregon State 42, USC 17, 14:14 left in the fourth quarter
B.J. Baylor and Tyjon Lindsey are putting on a show for Oregon State
Oregon State is pouring it on. The Beavers have scored touchdowns on each of their last four drives to push the lead to 35-17. Jack Colletto punched it in from the 1, but the combination of B.J. Baylor and Tyjon Lindsey did the heavy lifting on the five-play, 59-yard drive, accounting for 48 yards.
Baylor has 15 carries for 124 yards and Lindsey has five catches for 102 yards and two touchdowns.
Meanwhile, USC has assumed the yellow flag mantle, picking up 54 yards in penalties in the third quarter alone. They also just turned over the ball over again on a Kedon Slovis fumble in Beavers territory. The Trojans have three punts, a fumble and a field goal on their last five drives.
Oregon State 35, USC 17, 3:20 left in the third quarter
On opening drive of second half, Beavers expand lead to 28-17, bring the shade
Chance Nolan and the Oregon State offense picked up where they off, with their second consecutive six-play, 75-yard drive. This one was punctuated by Nolan’s fourth touchdown pass of the night, and his second to Tyjon Lindsey, who in turn punctuated the moment with some not-so-subtle shade.
The Coliseum has a little of that Stanford game vibe to it.
Oregon State 28, USC 17, 12:06 left in third quarter
Your Pac-12 scoreboard as of 9:42 p.m. PDT
We’re a full-service joint.
#Pac12BeforeDark Scoreboard
UCLA 35, Stanford 24 (F)
Utah 24, Washington State 13 (F)
#Pac12AfterDark Scoreboard
Oregon State 21, USC 17, Halftime
Washington 24, Cal 17, fourth quarter
Oregon 24, Arizona 10, third quarter
Arizona State 21, Colorado 10, third quarter
Takeaways from the first half of USC-Oregon State
Both teams had a turnover that led to a touchdown on the subsequent drive.
Both teams ran the ball well, averaging more than six yards per carry.
Both quarterbacks were effective, leading their teams on three lengthy scoring drives. Oregon State’s Chance Nolan used both his arm (11-for-13, 153 yards, three TDs) and legs (4 carries, 47 yards) to lead the Beavers on three touchdown drives.
After being picked off on the opening drive, Slovis has been relatively sharp, completing 13 of 23 passes for 156 yards to six receivers. With time for another couple of plays, he might have matched Nolan’s third TD drive.
The big difference has been Oregon State’s inability to avoid penalties; they have nine for 100 yards in the half.
Beavers go two-for-one, score late first-half TD, up 21-17 at halftime
After the Beavers forced a three-and-out, they needed a mere 43 seconds to go 92 yards, Fresno State-style, to re-take the lead 21-14, capped by Chance Nolan’s third touchdown pass of the half, a 36-yarder to Tre’Shaun Harrison along the right sideline.
The Trojans put together their own quick drive, aided again by Oregon State penalties. Starting from its 25, USC drove to the Beavers’ nine-yard line to set up a Parker Lewis 26-yard field goal to close the gap to 21-17.
Oregon State was called for 25 more penalty yards on the drive, bringing their final first-half tab to nine penalties for 110 yards.
Oregon State 21-17, Halftime
Oregon State ties game 14-14 behind Chance Nolan’s second TD pass
The Trojans have a line of scrimmage issue.
The Beavers have moved the Trojans †D line backwards with ease in the first half. They are averaging nearly seven yards per run, led by B.J. Baylor, who has 66 of Oregon State’s 157 rushing yards. That running success set up the Beavers’ tying score, a 13-yard touchdown from Chance Nolan to Tyjon Lindsey, Nolan’s second TD pass of the half.
USC 14, Oregon State 14, 2:50 left in the second quarter
USC benefits from more Oregon State penalties, takes 14-7 lead
Aided penalties by Oregon State on three straight plays, the Trojans moved the ball 80 yards in nine plays, capped by a Keaontay Ingram nine-yard run on a handoff exchange with Kedon Slovis that nearly went awry.
Ingram has 85 total yards (8 carries, 51 yards; 1 catch 34 yards).
Less than two minutes into the second quarter, the Beavers have seven penalties for 82 yards.
USC 14, Oregon State, 13:23 left in second quarter
The story of the first quarter in three tweets
The story of the first quarter told in three tweets:
Oregon continues to move ball with ease, but USC gets timely interception
Starting from its own 25, Oregon State continued to dominate the line of scrimmage, moving the ball 67 yards in 10 plays to get to the Trojans’ eight-yard line. However, on a second and one, Chance Nolan, under pressure, looked to be throwing the ball away, but didn’t get enough under it and USC defensive back Isaac Taylor-Stuart pulled it in. After initially ruling Taylor-Stuart to be out of bounds, the call was overruled upon replay and USC took over at its 20.
USC 7, Oregon State 7, 3:01 left in first quarter
USC needs less than two minutes to tie Beavers at 7-all
On their second drive, the Trojans marched quickly downfield, benefitting from 30 yards of Oregon State penalties on consecutive plays that set up a Kedon Slovis seven-yard touchdown pass to Gary Bryant Jr. Slovis completed passes to five different players on the drive.
USC 7, Oregon State 7, 8:14 left in first quarter
Oregon State takes lead after Kedon Slovis is intercepted on opening drive
On the game’s first series, Kadon Slovis was picked off at midfield and Oregon State made the Trojans pay. One play after Oregon State quarterback Chance Nolan converted a 4th and 3 with a 14-yard run, he hit Teagan Quintoriano in stride for a 27-yard touchdown pass to give the Beavers a 7-0 lead.
Oregon State 7, USC 0, 9:58 left in first quarter
And we are underway to the Coliseum—and the start is not pretty
For the second straight home, the Trojans’ discipline, or lack thereof, was immediately apparent. Against Stanford, it was a targeting penalty against Parker Lewis that led to the plackicker’s ejection; tonight SC was called for a personal foul on a kickoff that wasn’t even returned.
Compounding the poor start, Kedon Slovis, returning from injury, was picked off at midfield on the sixth play of the game. Oregon State is driving.
10 minutes till kickoff at the Coliseum. The LAT crew has you covered
The sun has set in both the Southland and the Pac-12, which probably means that things are about to get weird. The local teams are riding a two-weekend streak of vintage #Pac12AfterDark drama, from the Saturday Night Massacre that got Clay Helton fired two weeks ago to last Saturday’s fourth-quarter fireworks at the Rose Bowl.
Thuc Nhi Nguyen and Dylan Hernandez have you covered from the Coliseum, where Donte Williams home head coaching debut kicks off at 7:45 PDT. Below they preview what to expect tonight:
Donte Williams grew up in Crenshaw; tonight he gets his full-circle moment
The day was always a highlight of the year. Getting free tickets to a USC game at the Coliseum was like a dream for Donte Williams and his Pop Warner teammates. Once a year, for one game, the kids playing for youth teams in Baldwin Hills cheered from the stands as the Trojans solidified their place in the city’s heart.
Decades later, Williams’ vantage point has changed drastically, but he is still getting free tickets.
The interim coach who went to high school less than eight miles from the Coliseum has secured 24 tickets for family and friends to watch him on the sideline during his home head coaching debut against Oregon State at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday. It’s a feel-good, full-circle moment for the Los Angeles native, but more important, it’s an opportunity for the hometown coach to reintroduce fans to a re-energized version of the program that’s fallen from its powerhouse perch.
USC vs. Oregon State: College football betting picks, odds and analysis
Change can be a good thing. Just ask the USC Trojans. Not only did the first game without Clay Helton go extremely well, freshman QB Jaxson Dart became the man of the hour in relief of Kedon Slovis.
As the Trojans go into Saturday’s game with Oregon State, however, it looks like Slovis will be back behind center and Dart may not even be dressed, as both USC quarterbacks battle injuries. Dart missed practice on Tuesday and Wednesday, but Slovis was back taking first-team reps.
The never-ending saga for this program just keeps on going.
Oregon State Beavers at USC Trojans (-11, 62.5)
Interim head coach Donte Williams says that we’ll all find out the starting QB on Saturday. It would seem that the Trojans will turn once again to Slovis in this game, as the junior from Scottsdale shakes off the neck injury that knocked him out of last week’s game. Slovis was injured during the second offensive series for the Trojans after completing one pass for eight yards. The offense really took off with Dart, who threw for 391 yards and was USC’s leading rusher with 32 yards on six carries.
3 things you need to know about USC vs. Oregon State, starting with Kedon Slovis
Donte Williams dazzled in his head coaching debut as USC blew out Washington State on the road, but an encore victory will be harder to secure, even at home.
“Last week, sometimes, things are easy because it’s new, it’s fresh,” Williams said this week. “Guys are excited. So when it’s the second time through sometimes, it becomes a grind a little bit.”
Keeping the team engaged as the dust settles from the coaching change is Williams’ main task against Oregon State , with the Trojans favored by 11. Times staff writer Thuc Nhi Nguyen breaks down top storylines entering the matchup:
And still QB1
Kedon Slovis won the first round of USC’s new quarterback battle by default as Jaxson Dart is sidelined after surgery on a torn meniscus. Slovis, a three-year starter, didn’t appear to be bothered in practice by the neck injury that knocked him out of the game at Washington State and didn’t show signs of backing down after his job status was in question.
“A lot of guys in this locker room, including myself, believe in him,” Williams said of Slovis’ performance in practice this week. “I saw somebody who’s coming back that’s just resumed their role where they normally are, which is the starting quarterback.”