Game Report

FIRST QUARTER

USC 7, Oregon State 3

HOW THEY SCORED: * USC: Steve Stevenson, recovered a blocked punt in the end zone at 9:46. PAT--David Davis (kick).

THE TURNING POINT: Oregon State’s offense was stopped deep in its territory on first possession before blocked punt.

NOT IN THE SUMMARY: It was the first time in their last eight games, dating to the San Jose State opener, that the Trojans scored first.

STAT WATCH: Troy Polamalu blocked his second punt of the season. Stevenson scored on a blocked punt for the second time in his career. USC quarterback Carson Palmer completed all six passes, but for only 40 yards. The teams combined for 25 yards rushing.

SECOND QUARTER

USC 7, Oregon State 3

HOW THEY SCORED: * Oregon State: Ryan Cesca, 24-yard field goal at 9:05; 78 yards in nine plays.

THE TURNING POINT: The Beavers managed the only sustained drive of the half.

NOT IN THE SUMMARY: ABC officials silently kicking themselves for agreeing to televise the game.

STAT WATCH: USC’s offense took the quarter off. The Trojans ran off 17 plays for 42 yards, or 2.5 yards a play. Their longest possession lasted six plays, and went from their 20 to their 27. Palmer kept throwing short, high percentage passes (13-15-1) but getting little out of them (80 yards). Beaver quarterback Jonathan Smith was a little better--12-19-1 for 125 yards. Each team had a drive end in an interception. Oregon State tailback Steven Jackson had 32 yards in two carries, while USC’s Sunny Byrd had 25 yards in eight carries.

THIRD QUARTER

USC 10, Oregon State 10

HOW THEY SCORED: * USC: Davis, 30-yard field goal at 11:18; 62 yards in eight plays. * Oregon State: Jackson, four-yard pass from Smith at 1:36; 96 yards in 13 plays. PAT--Cesca (kick).

THE TURNING POINT: A tactical 39-yard punt by USC’s Mike MacGillivray had Oregon State pinned down at its four-yard line. But on the first play, Jackson broke loose for an 18-yard gain. The run not only got the Beavers out of trouble, it propelled them to their touchdown.

NOT IN THE SUMMARY: It was Davis’ eighth consecutive field goal and 11th in his last 12 attempts.

STAT WATCH: Jackson accounted for 71 yards on the Oregon State scoring drive, 67 of them rushing.

FOURTH QUARTER

USC 10, Oregon State 10

No scoring.

THE TURNING POINT: Cesca’s missed 29-yard field-goal attempt with 33 seconds to play. It got the Trojans to the overtime period.

NOT IN THE SUMMARY: Cesca missed two field-goal attempts in the quarter. The first, from 35 yards, was wide to the left, the second was wide to the right.

STAT WATCH: At the end of regulation, Oregon State had a wide lead in total yardage, 371-179, and time of possession, 33:11 to 26:49. USC had 17 yards net rushing in 30 carries. MacGillivray’s solid day punting, averaging 41.2 yards on 10 kicks, helped the Trojans stay in the game.

OVERTIME

USC 16, Oregon State 13

HOW THEY SCORED: * Oregon State: Cesca, 29-yard field goal; 13 yards in seven plays. * USC: Palmer, four-yard touchdown run; 25 yards in seven plays.

THE TURNING POINT: Two third-down plays. Smith took Oregon State to the Trojans’ three-yard line, but he was sacked by Ryan Nielsen for a nine-yard loss, forcing the Beavers to kick the field goal. On their possession, the Trojans faced a third-and-eight from the Oregon State 12. Palmer completed a short pass to Alex Holmes, who bulled his way for nine yards. Two plays later, Palmer ran in for the winning score.

NOT IN THE SUMMARY: Palmer’s touchdown produced the first points by the USC offense in the game.

STAT WATCH: Palmer finished with 171 yards passing, completing 21 of 28. He was sacked six times; his minus-28 yards rushing shrank the Trojans’ net total to 33 yards. Nine Trojan receiver caught at least one pass, with Kareem Kelly grabbing five for 73 yards. Smith was 20 for 33 for 203 yards. He threw to 10 different receivers, led by James Newson’s six receptions for 94 yards. Jackson, a true freshman with a total of 159 rushing yards coming into the game, ran for 119 yards in 16 carries.