Top 10 Oregon State Football Games Since 2000: #1 - 2008's Victory Over #1 USC
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Oregon State did not care about the point spread when they welcomed Pete Carroll's Trojans in September of 2008.
Forget that they had been on the unfortunate side of a blown call in their season opener, or that their defense had been exposed by Penn State in week two. Led by star freshman Jacquizz Rodgers and a strong offensive line, the Beavers were not intimidated by their top-ranked opponent.
First Quarter
USC quarterback Mark Sanchez and his offense got a taste of the raucous Reser Stadium crowd right away, facing a third-and-one on their opening drive. Sanchez handed it off to Stephon Johnson, who was hit in the backfield and dropped well short of the marker. It was a big morale-booster right out of the gate, forcing one of the best offenses in the country to go three-and-out to start the night. Then, Mike Riley's offense went right to work. It took them just two plays to get down to the USC 40, before Moevao and the Rodgers brothers took over the drive.
On first down, they set up a screen pass to James Rodgers behind the line of scrimmage, who identified his blockers and weaved his way for 14 yards. The next two plays were handoffs to Quizz, who got the Beavers down inside the ten. On first-and-goal from the eight, Moevao slung it out to James Rodgers on a screen pass. A wideout on the edge sealed his block perfectly, and James didn't miss it. The elder of the two brothers caught the corner and, by the time he was hit at the one, was able to extend the ball with his right hand across the plane of the goal line. The sideline official paused for a moment, before signaling touchdown. The call was upheld after review, and Oregon State had given #1 USC a very rude welcome to Corvallis.
The Trojans couldn't get anything going on their ensuing possession, as the Beaver defense once again stuffed the run on third-and-short. Oregon State's offense came back onto the field looking to take a commanding early lead, and the Beavers moved the ball down all the way inside the Trojan 25. But with an injury to starting kicker Alexis Serna, a sack taken on third down bumped them out of field goal range, and Mike Riley sent his punting unit out.
Second Quarter
Pete Carroll's team was able to finally muster a first down after taking over at their own seven, but any momentum ended there. Mark Sanchez took a big sack on first and ten, putting the Trojans well behind the sticks and essentially killing the drive. Greg Woidneck's punt wasn't a good one, and the Beavers took over with good field position at their own 38. Quizz went to work from here. He busted off back-to-back rushes of ten and nine yards, respectively, rewarding very good work from his O-line. They gave it to the star freshman again on third and five, and Rodgers was able to reach forward just enough to pick up the first down, after the chains were brought out for a measurement. He followed this up with another first-down burst, making an incredible cut at the line of scrimmage after a strong surge by the Trojan front seven. USC just couldn't stop him.
The USC defense was able to force the Beavs into a third-and-long situation, after a false start and an incompletion. But on third-and-11, Moevao threw a bullet over the middle to Sammie Stroughter on a slant, and the future NFL wideout made the catch to set up first-and-goal. Moevao handed it off to his star halfback on the next play, and Quizz went directly up the middle behind his center and right guard. He was hit by a couple defenders at around the half yard line, but was able to keep the legs churning and bully his way into the end zone.
The crowd got to their feet, and the ESPN cameras panned to a sign that read "we ain't scared." And the Beavers weren't. They now had a 14-0 lead midway through the second quarter.
The Trojans needed a response, and for a minute it looked like they might get it. Mark Sanchez made a phenomenal play when he spun away from what should've been a sack, and found Damian Williams downfield inside the Oregon State 40. But once again, the resilient Beaver defense was up to the task. They forced an incompletion on second down, before getting to halfback Joe McKnight in the backfield on a third-down run play. McKnight coughed up the football after being hit, and it was pounced on by Victor Butler at OSU's 42. The Beavers had come away with a critical stop, and got the ball back with a chance to deliver a devastating blow to #1 before halftime.
Moevao and his offense were hunting that three-score lead. After a couple of big rushes from Jacquizz got the Beavs into plus territory, Moevao dropped back to throw on third-and-eight. He fired it up the seam for Stroughter, who was somehow able to haul it in for a first down after getting blasted by a defensive back. Despite hobbling after getting up, Stroughter motioned to the Reser crowd to get even louder, as he limped off the field. This set the Beavers up with first-and-ten at the Trojan 25. Moevao dumped off a HB screen to Quizz that was executed beautifully, getting OSU inside the USC ten with thirty seconds to go in the first half.
USC was able to get a third-down stop, but a personal foul on a Trojan defensive lineman gave OSU first and goal from the four with eleven seconds. Mike Riley knew this was enough time for at least one more shot at the end zone. It was here that disaster should've struck for the Beavers- but didn't.
Moevao scanned the end zone from the pocket, before lofting an ill-advised pass to the corner of the end zone towards James Rodgers. A USC corner reached for the pass at the last second after his vision had been blocked by other players in front of him. It went off the DB's fingertips and wound up in the arms of James Rodgers, who probably couldn't believe that the ball had fallen to him. Reser erupted once again, and it was a tremendous gut punch to USC. The #1 team in the country was now in serious trouble, trailing 21-0 at halftime on the road.
Third Quarter
Nobody in America that night expected that one of the favorites to win the national championship would simply go down without a fight. USC wasn't messing around at the start of the second half, immediately forcing a three-and-out after getting to Jacquizz in the backfield. Then, Sanchez and his offense put together a seven-play, 62-yard drive that ended with a TD pass to Ronald Johnson. The Beavers were able to move the sticks once on their following drive, but then got stuffed on third-and-short in their own territory, and were forced to send out Johnny Hekker.
So, USC's offense went right back to work. After a big rush from backup halfback CJ Gable, they executed a pass to Joe McKnight beautifully after he ran a wheel route out of the backfield. Two plays later Sanchez dropped one right in the bucket to Williams for a 30-yard TD pass, and all of a sudden SC was right back in the football game. It was 21-14, and all the momentum was on the #1 ranked team's side.
Fourth Quarter
To Oregon State's credit, they were able to weather the storm. Despite not getting very far offensively, the defense held strong, and just kept forcing the top-ranked Trojans to punt. A blocked field goal with seven minutes left in the game gave USC a surge of life, but had to punt it away three plays later, another three-and-out forced by the Oregon State defense. The Beavers were able to move the ball 26 yards after getting it back, and this helped immensely in the field position battle. Johnny Hekker got a near-perfect punt away that rolled and was downed at the two, a kick that probably isn't talked about enough when people relive this upset.
Pinned against their own goal line with 3:15 left, Sanchez and his offense needed to go the length of the field. Oregon State's defense had been fantastic throughout the game. If the Trojans wanted to keep their perfect season alive, they would have to find a way to break through. They started the drive with a nice completion out to Johnson, who got them out to the 12. The funded ended right after this for USC's offense.
The Beavs brought a blitz, and Sanchez felt some heat as he dropped back in the pocket. With excellent coverage downfield, he tried to force a difficult throw into an extremely tight window. Not only was the pass slightly behind his intended target, it was high. It sailed into the path of Beaver safety Greg Laybourn, who intercepted it at the 30. Laybourn broke through a tackle right away, made a cut at around the 15, and for a second it looked as if he might score. USC's offense was finally able to retreat and catch up, but Laybourn wasn't wrestled down until he made it to the Trojan two yard line. It might've been one of the loudest eruptions in the 2008 college football season, and undoubtedly was one of the most memorable plays in Oregon State football history. Leading by seven with less than three minutes remaining, the Beavers were set up with first-and-goal.
They gave it to Jacquizz, and the freshman superstar scored to put the Beavers up 13. After a missed extra point and a big kickoff return, USC wasn't done quite yet. Sanchez threw four straight completion and Patrick Turner caught a TD pass to make it a one-score game. But the onside kick attempted was swallowed up by Taylor Kavanaugh of the OSU hands team, and that was all she wrote. It was electrifying. It was unforgettable. It was absolutely remarkable. The fans stormed the field, and the town of Corvallis was absolutely on fire. There were shades of the 2006 upset, except this time it was even bigger.
The unranked Beavers had slayed the giant, and taken down the #1 team in America.
Top 10 Oregon State Football Games Since 2000
#10 - 2013 OT Win At Utah
#9 - 2021 Beavs Outgun USC in Los Angeles
#8 - 2014 Beavers Stun #6 ASU
#7 - 2008 Thriller in the Desert
#6 - Beavs' Comeback in the 2006 Sun Bowl
#5 - James Rodgers' Fly Sweep Downs Ducks
#4 - Beavers Hold Off #3 USC in 2006
#3 -2022's Historic Comeback Against Nix's Ducks
#2 - Beavers Shock #2 Cal in Berkeley
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Ben Pahl is a sportswriter and broadcaster based in Portland, Oregon. His work covering college and professional sports has been featured by the Orange Media Network at Oregon State University as well as KBVR.fm. His other career stops in sports include the Portland Pickles baseball club and the NBA G-League's Rip City Remix.