Ex-Trojans still in shock as USC attempts to rebound from loss

Shaun Cody watched helplessly from a hotel room in Buffalo, N.Y.

Kyle Moore tried to make sense of it from Los Angeles.

Lawrence Jackson recorded it in Seattle but could not stomach seeing it in its entirety.

The NFL players, all former USC defensive linemen, reacted similarly last week as they witnessed Oregon's dismantling of the visiting Trojans:

Man, I can't believe this.

The 47-20 loss at Autzen Stadium stunned players from some of USC's best defensive units in Pete Carroll's eight previous seasons as coach.

"I tried to call everybody I played with but no one answered," said Cody, a consensus All-American in 2004. "I guess they were feeling the same way I was."

The aftermath apparently continues for some former Trojans.

Linebacker Brian Cushing, Cody's Houston Texans teammate, declined through a team spokesman to discuss the defeat and how the Trojans might come back.

"He's still too close to it," Cody said.

Cincinnati Bengals linebackers Keith Rivers and Rey Maualuga also did not respond to interview requests.

But former quarterback Mark Sanchez, who started when USC lost at Oregon in 2007, offered perspective while watching the Trojans practice on Thursday.

"Oregon was on fire -- it looked like the game I played in," said Sanchez, now a rookie with the New York Jets. "All we could do was win the next week."

The 2007 Trojans went on to win their final four games. They also caught a few breaks and earned a berth in the Rose Bowl.

Tonight, seven days removed from its Oregon nightmare, USC will attempt to regain its confidence when the 12th-ranked Trojans play Arizona State at Sun Devil Stadium.

Recent history favors a USC turnaround, though an eighth consecutive Pacific 10 Conference title remains a longshot. An eighth straight Bowl Championship Series bowl appearance might be within reach if the Trojans win out.

Since the start of the 2002 season, the Trojans followed each of their previous nine regular-season losses with bounce-back victories.

The Trojans also have never lost a November game under Carroll.

And while Oregon trips have been treacherous -- USC is winless in its last four games in the state -- Arizona has been a tonic: Carroll teams have not lost in seven trips there.

In 2001, Carroll's first season, the Trojans turned a corner by defeating Arizona, 41-34, at Tucson. The victory started a four-game winning streak that helped the Trojans finish the regular season 6-5.