Given how precariously the game was sandwiched between Ohio State and Oregon on the 2008 schedule, USC Coach Pete Carroll now admits he had Oregon State circled all along on his watch-out calendar.
"I had a sense six months ago it was going to be a problem," Carroll said in USC's locker room after Saturday night's 44-10 victory over Oregon, which was not a problem.
The semiannual disaster trip to Corvallis, though, is a rearview memory now as the Trojans refocus on the rest of a season that still has "national championship" as a possible ending.
USC seemed to regain its balance while knocking Oregon off its Nikes, and now the Trojans begin the arduous, dirty-work climb up the polls.
Sunday was not a "moving" day in the rankings, as the schools ahead of USC in the Associated Press poll all won.
USC did not budge off its No. 9 perch in the USA Today coaches' poll and actually dropped one position to No. 8 in the Harris index.
USC's weekend victory, though, which included a tack-on, 59-yard scoring pass with 1:50 left from mop-up quarterback Mitch Mustain to David Ausberry, impressed Associated Press voters enough to bump the Trojans up one spot to No. 8 ahead of Brigham Young.
Really, what has the Mountain West done against the Pacific 10 Conference this year? BYU can lodge a complaint, but the Cougars last week moved up three spots without playing.
The combination of USC's remaining schedule, which includes teams with a cumulative 20-22 record, and impending kill-off games in the Southeastern and Big 12 conferences should have Trojans fans re-energized into thinking the Corvallis loss was more embarrassing than punitive.
The motto for USC from here on in is www . . . "wipeout wins, wait."
No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 5 Texas have a bake-off this week, No. 4 LSU treks forebodingly toward No. 11 Florida, and No. 6 Penn State faces a tough test at Wisconsin.
Oklahoma doesn't play No. 3 Missouri in the regular season, but the schools could meet for the Big 12 title. Missouri does play No. 17 Oklahoma State (this week), Texas and No. 16 Kansas.
No. 7 Texas Tech still has Texas and Oklahoma left to consider.
The right mix of USC wins and top-10 losses could have the Trojans back in the top five by Halloween.
Things seem to be breaking USC's way again. If you want to make a parlor game of the Trojans' remaining schedule, try to find the second loss.
