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.
Oregon State quarterback Chance Nolan was electric, passing for 213 yards and four touchdowns on 15-for-19 passing with two interceptions. He added 57 yards rushing to complement running back B.J. Taylor, who ran for 158 yards in 23 attempts as the Beavers gained 319 of their 532 yards on the ground.
USC’s Kedon Slovis, who reprised his starting role when challenger Jaxson Dart was sidelined with knee surgery, was 31 for 49 for 355 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions, relying on desperation fourth-quarter drives to pad his passing stats.
Since unseating injured top recruit JT Daniels, Slovis’ completion percentage has fallen from 71.9% as a freshman to 67% as a sophomore and is 64.8% after four games in his junior year.
Oregon State, the best offense in the Pac-12 by yardage, was stopped in the first half only by an acrobatic end-zone interception from Isaac Taylor-Stuart in the first quarter and its own penalties.
The Beavers were flagged nine times for 110 yards in the first half, but still led by four at halftime. With just two penalties in the third quarter, the Beavers were free to roll to 21 consecutive points to start the second quarter, highlighted by a 17-yard touchdown pass from Nolan to receiver Tyjon Lindsey, who flashed USC’s victory sign to the crowd after he put the Beavers up 28-17.
Lindsey then nonchalantly turned his fingers down, flipping the Trojans legacy on its head.
Compared with Oregon State’s dynamic running game that kept USC’s front seven guessing all game, USC’s Air Raid offense looked like a failed gimmick. The Trojans (2-2, 1-2) rushed for 76 yards in 22 carries.
The program once known for dynamic stars like Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart, who won the city with their style on the field as much as their success, was left playing in front of a smattering of silent fans, seemingly so indifferent that they couldn’t even muster any boos as their team left the field, unlike the chorus that signaled the end of former coach Clay Helton as he was on his way out following an embarrassing loss to Stanford.
“When did the offense become so abysmal,” Leinart tweeted after the third quarter when the Trojans were trailing 35-17.
It got worse when the Beavers scored on the first play of the fourth quarter.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.