Oregon State 33, USC 31

Saw the bulk of the game coming back from Galveston. I don't know if USC was looking past the Beavers to the Mount Rushmore of its season--Cal, Oregon, Notre Dame and UCLA--but I know I was. Perhaps I hurt the team. A few points:

*A major upset in college football usually involves a) home field for the underdog, and b) either turnovers, lousy officiating, or a crummy kicking game by the favorite--usually at least two of the three. The officiating wasn't bad by Pac-10 standards (though I would like a ruling on the play whereby the OSU defender caught Dwayne Jarrett in midair as Jarrett caught the ball, then literally carried him out of bounds: incompletion). For the Trojans, turnovers were enough to sink them, especially the gut-punch interception in the end zone and Chauncey Washington's two fumbles, one of which occurred for no particular reason (he wasn't hit or jostled, the ball simply spurted from his grasp).

*Such has been USC's dominance over the conference (even in the face of mounting evidence the past few weeks) that, right up until the instant Booty's final pass was batted away, I more or less assumed the Trojans would win. Yes, even when they were down 23 points. Even on fourth down on the final drive.

My gosh, this was the team that drove the length of the field in the shadow of Touchdown Jesus.

Except, of course, it isn't.

*As The Irish Trojan points out (among monay other odds and ends) USC is due to take a major hit in the polls. My prediction? 11.

*Employing a wide-angled lens, so ends an era that began three seasons ago: USC's hegemony over the Pac-10. I was there when it started, in the upper deck of Sun Devil Stadium, when an little-known sophomore named Matt Leinart took the field, facing a third-quarter 17-10 deficit and the ASU faithful in full meltdown mode. Leinart had thrown three interceptions in the loss to Cal and was hardly the successor to the sainted Carson Palmer; didn't Cassell deserve a look? But that game became the template for the next 2 1/2 seasons: dominance, and failing that, every crucial bounce, every close call, every fourth-and-close going the Trojans' way. This was true across the nation, right up until Lendale White took the ball at fourth and two . . . but we could reconcile ourselves that the Rose Bowl loss was Vince, Vince, Vince, and, oh yeah, Vince.

Today was something different. This was a loss at least a month in the making, a loss to an ordinary team, a loss that throws USC back into the conference pile with Oregon and Cal to begin with, and the Washington schools. This current cast of Trojans has been living off The Motorcycle Boy's rep for too long; this loss had a sense of clarification to it, of bringing the Trojans back to market value. USC is a very good team in an improving conference, but draw a line here and now.

An era ends. So let's go get Stanford.