2008 Week 5

Taylor Mays comes in hard for the tackle

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Los Angeles, (AP)

USC coming off a big win over then #3 Ohio State Buckeyes suffered a hang over game yesterday. Trojans struggled against a not so very talented Oregon St Beaver team, reminding us that the Trojans have lost some games against some less then stellar teams the last 2 seasons.

The men of Troy only managed 264 yds of offense to Oregon St's 279 yds of offense. Along with that the offensive line struggled, giving up 7 sacks and picked up QB Mark Sanchez off the ground all day. The offensive line showed that they are still young and that they still need to mature.

The bright spot of this game was Trojans defense, as they continued to impress. The defense only gave up 12 rushing yards as they also sacked the QB 4 times. Most of the Beavers 267 yds passing came late in the game as they attempted to catch the Trojans on the scoreboard.

Trojans only managed 1 offensive TD (1 yd run Marc Tyler) going into the 4th QTR. The Beavers sustained a long drive and scored on a 6 yd run by R. McCants making the score 16-6 after a failed 2 pt attempt.

Trojans then gave up the ball, going 3 and out the next drive and kept Oregon St's hopes alive. The Beavers were marching down the field with 3:18 left on the play clock, when Rey Maualuga striped the ball out of Beaver's RB R. McCants' hands. Taylor Mays scooped the ball up and ran 54 yds the other way for the Trojans making the game 23-6, putting the game out of reach.

One bright spot for the Trojans was Marc Tyler, the young redshirt freshmen showed some good running skill in the 2nd QTR as he was given the opportunity carry the ball. Tyler carried the ball 7 times for 34 yds and a tough 1 yd TD run.

"Our O-Line had a tough time today, and we have to go back and look at the tapes. They're young and they still have lots to learn. Our defense stepped up for us big time and i expected that from our seniors, Rey came up with a big play for us at the end"- Pete Carroll

The Buckeyes suffered a big lost in the 2nd QTR as their star offensive player Beanie Wells suffered a possible dislocated shoulder after being tackled by Trojan MLB Rey Maualuga. The Buckeyes Offense sparrow downward from that point on.

"We'll be okay, we'll come out and ready to play next week. We'll learn from this"- Mark Sanchez

Trojans survived a hang over after an impressive victory against a the Buckeyes. Bottom line right now is they are still undefeated and still the front runner for the BCS title game.

Next Game

Trojans returns home to face Oregon Ducks against a always dangerous spread offense. RB Stafon Johnson will have a showdown with highschool teammate, RB for the Ducks Jeremiah Johnson. Both went to Dorsey Highschool in Los Angeles CA.

Notable Mention

Kevin Ellison was honored as the PAC-10 defensive player of the week with 8 tacks and 2 ints.