Trojans stage sack party

Canfield goes down nine times in 24-3 loss

By Kerry Eggers

LocalNewsDaily.com, Nov 3, 2007, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (4 Reader comments)

LOS ANGELES — It didn't take long — a quarter and a half, max — to figure out Oregon State wasn't going to have enough offense to beat Southern Cal Saturday night.

The OSU offensive line couldn't open holes or protect quarterback Sean Canfield, as big a reason as any for the 13th-ranked Trojans' 24-3 victory over the Beavers at the LA Coliseum.

Senior tailback Yvenson Bernard dressed but didn't play to protect his injured left shoulder, but LaDainian Thomlinson couldn't have picked up much yardage behind the OSU O-line on this night.

And give credit where it is deserved: Southern Cal's defense is good. The Trojans, who came into the game fourth nationally in total defense, have size and speed and spread through the Beaver offense liked a communicable disease. They sacked Canfield nine times and limited Oregon State to 12 first downs and 176 yards total offense.

The SC defense "played outstanding today; we didn't even show up," OSU senior guard Roy Schuening said. "To give up (nine) sacks is embarrassing. The first thing I did after the game was say 'I'm sorry' to Sean."

Southern Cal improved to 7-2 overall and 5-2 in Pac-10 action and gained a measure of revenge against Oregon State, which beat the Trojans 33-31 in Corvallis a year ago to snap their 27-game Pac-10 win streak. Saturday's loss, before an announced Coliseum crowd of 85,713, broke a three-game win streak for the Beavers (5-4, 3-3), who play host to Washington next Saturday and still must win another game for bowl eligibility.

With tackle Tavita Thompson ineligible and guard Jeremy Perry still sidelined while recovering from a leg injury, the Oregon State O-line is less than whole. Against a Trojan defensive front seven that could yield as many as five NFL first-round draft picks, the leftovers weren't nearly enough.

"We've taken some hits and are playing some younger people on the offensive line," Oregon State coach Mike Riley said. "They're battling like crazy, but it makes it harder to have continuity.

"(The O-linemen) got baptized in a lot of ways tonight. Hopefully the guys will learn from it. Once we get past it, it will be good for them to play against those kind of players."

When Oregon State was forced to settle for a 22-yard Alexis Serna field goal and a 3-3 tie after a turnover that gave the Beavers the ball at the Southern Cal 17 early in the second quarter, it was a very bad sign.

The Trojans, taking advantage of great field position, put together three touchdowns in the next 7 1/2 minutes to go ahead 24-3, and it was all but over.

"We don't want to have that happen at all, and it happened a little bit in the second quarter," OSU linebacker Joey LaRocque said. "There were a series of unfortunate events, and it kind of killed us."

But other than during that short span, SC's offense never got it going, either, against an OSU defense that entered the game leading the nation in sacks and rushing defense. The Trojans finished with only 16 first downs and 287 yards total offense, but it was enough on a night when the Beaver "O" was running on empty.

"Oregon State has a great defense — the top one we've seen this year," SC coach Pete Carroll said.

"We were never out of this game; the defense kept us in it," Schuening said. "Every game this year, they've done an outstanding job. Our offensive line didn't do anything today."

SC's defense used "pretty basis stuff," Schuening said. "They didn't blitz a whole lot. They didn't do anything crazy. They were the bigger men today. That's tough to admit, but my hat's off to their front four. They played outstanding. ...and we didn't come to play. We have to protect our quarterback. Sean's a good friend of mine, and I'm honestly ashamed. We let him down; we let the whole team down."

Carroll saw it as a spectacular performance on the Trojans' part.

"Just an overwhelming night by the defense," Carroll said. "All week long we thought we could pressure (Canfield), and throughout the night, every (SC defender) at least once came in on the rush. ... if we don't turn the ball over and play defense like this, it is going to be tough to lose any game."

Oregon State managed only three first downs and 50 yards total offense in the half — and that included James Rodgers' 39-yard dash on a "fly sweep" on the first play from scrimmage. The Beaver rushing game was a non-factor as the O-linemen couldn't offer tailbacks Matt Sieverson and Clinton Polk any holes.

"We didn't get any rhythm going," Riley said. "We had way too many three-and-outs in the first half to put our defense in really bad field position. That really told the tale. In the second half we moved the ball a little better but we couldn't score.

"It was not pretty. It was hard to do anything against that (SC defense)."

Canfield — who threw for only 85 yards on 11 of 5 — had a reason to be flustered. Too often, he had less time to throw than a QB in an all-aerial pickup game. And the Trojan rushers weren't counting alligators.

Oregon State's sophomore QB finally departed the game after an 18-yard scramble late in the game. The Trojans' Will Harris was assessed a personal foul penalty as Canfield was hit while sliding at the end of the play. It appeared he was knocked woozy, and backup Lyle Moevao came on to finish the game.

The Oregon State defense fought hard and kept the Trojans at bay much of the time, allowing only 175 yards total offense. But it was like plugging fingers into holes in a dike. Eventually, the water was going to rush through.

Oregon State moved into SC territory with its first four possessions of the second half, taking it to the Trojan 4-yard line the second time. But on fourth-and-two from the four, Canfield was sacked trying to scramble and the Trojans took over.

The teams traded missed 48-yard field goal attempts on their first possessions of the game.

Southern Cal drove methodically from its 35 to the OSU 30, but David Buehler's field-goal try was wide right.

On Oregon State's first offensive play, Rodgers converted his patented end-around play for a 39-yard gainer to the SC 30. The Beavers lost a yard on their next three plays, and Serna's field-goal try was also wide right.

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