The Aftershocks
After USC's team charter returned to Los Angeles in the wee hours of Friday morning, defensive tackle Fili Moala went home to sleep off the previous night's disappointment.
"I thought I would wake up and feel better," Moala said softly, breaking the midday silence in Heritage Hall. "But I was like, 'Man. We really did lose.' "
Moala, his teammates and coaches -- and legions of college football fans -- were still mulling the Trojans' 27-21 loss to Oregon State, a 25 1/2 -point underdog, that will knock USC from atop the polls.
USC won't find out how far it fell until Sunday, but rankings were far from the Trojans' minds a day after Oregon State physically punished them in their Pacific 10 Conference opener.
"We're going to be fighting a long time to recover from the first game," Coach Pete Carroll said.
USC simply never matched Oregon State's emotion on a night when an orange-clad crowd at Reser Stadium buoyed the Beavers.
The Trojans did not look ready, especially in the first half when they fell behind 21-0.
"I don't think we took them lightly," Moala said. "I think it was just hard for us to just get going."
Carroll, who is on the road recruiting this weekend, took the blame.
"It's about carrying the focus of practice to the game and I didn't do a good enough job," he said by phone. "It has to start with me."
Oregon State beat USC by playing more physical than perhaps any team since Texas in the 2006 Bowl Championship Series title game. The style, as much as the result, shocked the Trojans and a national television audience.
"We just got beat up front," Carroll said. "The reasons are real hard to nail because we practiced well, but by the time we got to game time we didn't have the edge we needed."
The Beavers wavered some in the third quarter, giving up two touchdowns and having a field-goal attempt blocked. But they collected themselves and went on to finish the job.
USC aided its demise by failing to wrap up 5-foot-7 freshman Jacquizz Rodgers, who seemed to spin away from would-be tacklers on nearly every one of his 37 carries for 186 yards.
Rodgers got help from his brother, James, a receiver who was sent in motion throughout the game but rarely got the ball on reverses that USC never stopped anticipating.
The strategy allowed Jacquizz to run his basic play over and over again from various formations.
