Shades of '67 in Corvallis

Pete Carroll's USC Trojans--the greatest team we've ever seen according to many in our great media--fell again to an inferior conference opponent. Mike Riley's Oregon State Beavers (Wow, you were outcoached by Mike Riley, Pete? Really?) thoroughly outplayed the Trojans as the Beavers upset the Trojans 27-21 last night in Corvallis. It was the second straight upset of USC at Reser Stadium, and the victory stirred memories of OSU's win over USC in 1967, when the Beavers beat the O.J. Simpson-led top-ranked Trojans 3-0. Since 2006, USC is just 2-3 against teams from the state of Oregon.Oregon State dominated from the get-go, building a 21-point first-half lead before capitalizing on a late Mark Sanchez interception that led to the final Beaver touchdown and a 27-14 lead with three minutes left.

USC tailback Joe McKnight, who rushed for 105 yards against Ohio State, finished with just 10 yards. Meanwhile, Oregon State's tailback had little problem confusing the USC front. Diminutive Jacquizz Rodgers, just 5'7" and 185 pounds, ran for 186 yards and two scores as the Beavers beat the Trojans for the third time in the last four games in Corvallis.

On the baseball beat, the AL Central just became a lot more interesting than it was even three days ago when it was very intriguing. The Chicago White Sox were swept out of the Metrodome, a house of horrors the last few years for the team, and now actually trail the Twins by a half-game with a weekend of games to play. The White Sox were content with merely taking one game, but could not hold an early 6-2 lead and eventually fell in extra innings 7-6. The Twins now host the Royals for the final three regular season games while the Sox welcome in the Indians. If necessary, the Sox have a makeup game with the Tigers that would be played on Monday afternoon.