More painful lessons of the fall for Trojans, who never seem to learn

Wait a timber-lodge, Mike Riley, Trojans-killer minute: USC wasn't supposed to lose to that OSU.

Ohio State . . . maybe.

But not Oregon State, the team that recently lost at Penn State by 31.

Now comes the hard part: "Now what?"

USC Coach Pete Carroll has another long weekend to offer "teachable lessons."

Maybe he'll learn some himself as he absorbs the undeniable truth that has become USC: Being so raring to go in nonconference Brent Musburger showcases and so absent-minded in conference games against the "little dudes" (Stanford, UCLA, Jacquizz Rodgers).

How did a trip to pick up a win turn into pick-up-the-pieces?

For a third consecutive season, an early defeat to an unranked Pacific 10 Conference opponent may cost USC a shot at the national championship.

Also, for a third straight year, there is still time to clear the blemish.

Losing at 25 1/2 -point underdog Oregon State on the eve of the first Harris Interactive Poll, though, was not good timing.

"They couldn't block Oregon State," incredulous Harris poll voter Gil Brandt, the longtime Dallas Cowboys executive, said Friday. "I was shocked."

Tom Luicci of the Newark Star-Ledger, another panelist, wasn't sold on USC from the beginning. "Considering this first Harris poll is supposed to be based on what we've seen, I don't think you can say that USC is a top-10 team at this point," he said.

Fran Curci, former coach at Miami and Kentucky and current Harris pollster, wasn't sure what he was watching Thursday night. "I think this really hurts USC," he said. "They never should have lost that game."

And Harris voter Blair Kerkhoff, who covers colleges for the Kansas City Star, chimed in that USC "came out flatter than a $700-billion bailout offer."

Ouch.

The Harris poll is part of the Bowl Championship Series standings formula that will determine the two national title game participants. The first BCS standings won't be released until Oct. 19.

Above everything else, though, the most important thing to remember about the BCS is that it's like the weather in Buffalo.

When you think it's moving left, it jags right.

USC is not out of the national title race -- not by any Yao Ming stretch.

In 2003, the Trojans lost in triple overtime at California on Sept. 27, dropped from No. 3 to No. 10 in the Associated Press poll, and recovered to finish No. 1 in both polls and win a share of the national title.