I admit, I scoffed when Pete Carroll suggested the Pac-10 would be a difficult road to hoe. Obviously, Carroll knew something about his team that I didn’t.

The fallout of Oregon State’s shocking 27-21 win over the highly-touted USC Trojans will have more ripple effects than a two-ton boulder dropped in a placid lake. For starters, the entire top half of the SEC should be sending Mike Riley and Jacquizz Rodgers a bouquet of flowers, gift cards and any other kind of swag they can get their hands on. I would imagine teams like Oklahoma, Missouri, and BYU will be sending their regards to Corvallis as well.

Whatever criticism the Trojans are getting, they deserve it. They played uninspired football against a team they were warned about. Their offensive line was atrocious, as was that 4th quarter interception by Mark Sanchez that gave the Beavers their go-ahead touchdown. USC’s defense wasn’t as bad as their offensive line counterparts, but there is no excuse for allowing Rodgers, a 5-6 true freshman running back, to run for 186 yards and two touchdowns against such an imposing set of athletes.

But maybe that’s the problem. Maybe USC didn’t take such a diminutive back seriously. Maybe that allowed Rodgers to completely baffle them with his elusive running style, avoiding the over-aggressive tacklers for the Trojans. Whatever the case, USC is now sporting one loss and their hope for BCS glory could very well be over — and it’s not even October yet.

To say their was fallout amongst the writers who follow the Trojans is an understatement. The mood is one of shock and disbelief, something the LA Times and Conquest Chronicles capture quite well.

From the LA Times:

Good lord, nobody saw that coming.

Conquest Chronicles expands on that:

I don’t have any answers…and I am totally perplexed.

I simply can’t and won’t accept the whole Pac-10 familiarity argument.

Not with this talent.

Not with all this talk about being prepared and practicing well.

That’s very similar to my reaction as I watched the Trojans falter time and time again on both sides of the football. Adding insult to shocking upset is the status of USC linebacker, Rey Maualuga. The Butkus Award finalist hurt his knee in the latter moments of the game and his status is currently unknown.

As for the Beaver fans and students, it was indeed time to party when the final gun sounded, something the epilepsy-inducing video demonstrates:

Pictures, too:

Not a bad way to kick-off the college football weekend at all.

Because of Oregon State, it’s now easy to imagine coaches like Mark Richt, Urban Meyer, Bob Stoops, Les Miles and Gary Pinkel using last night’s upset as a motivation tool as their teams prepare for Saturday’s games.

Tags: Jacquizz Rodgers, Mike Riley, Oregon State Beavers, Pac-10 Football, Pete Carroll, Upset, USC Trojans

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