Inevitable

You knew it would happen. Maybe you didn't think it would be off of a bye week following a big win. Maybe you thought it would be against a slightly better team. But you knew, someday, somewhere, somehow... USC would play down to a lesser opponent.

They do every year. They did tonight against Oregon State.

Sometimes, the mighty Trojans have been able to wriggle off the hook. Some years its due to their overwhelming talent, others due to awful miscues by opponents. Oregon State (and its prematurely celebratory fans) certainly provided USC with enough opportunities.

But McKnight and Sanchez are not Bush and Leinart and the Trojans could not capitalize on the Beavers' mistakes. So USC, barring a 2007-like oddity, has played itself out of the national picture once again.

Maybe you didn't think it would happen tonight. But don't act surprised.