The 13th-ranked USC Trojans (7-2, 4-2) used a strong defense and a truly impressive pass rush against an overmatched Oregon State Beaver (5-4, 3-3) squad in a 24-3 victory on Saturday evening at the Coliseum. The Trojans could not put any points on the board in the second half, but that didn’t stop them from scoring a much-needed Pac-10 victory and  rebounding from a loss last week (as well as last-year’s defeat to this same Oregon State team). And despite USC’s lack of offensive firepower, the game was never truly in doubt, as it became clear early on that the Trojan defense was too much for the Beavers to handle and that the only way OSU could win would be if the Trojans beat themselves–something that has happened in past weeks but not on Saturday.

We recap the night’s storylines, update you on the team’s newest injuries, and roundup all of the game coverage available in major publications online.

Storylines

• The Beaver offense clearly had little going on with injured tailback Yverson Bernard (the team’s leading rusher and receiver) unable to play, but the Trojan defense was nevertheless outstanding on the night, surrendering just 12 first downs and 176 yards of total offense. Oregon State’s lone score came after a John David Booty fumble gave them excellent field position.
• One reason OSU could not generate any yardage: Trojan defenders were constantly in the Beaver backfield, recording a season-high nine sacks on the evening. Three-and-a-half of those sacks belonged to freshman DE Everson Griffen, who had by far the best game of his young career. And lest you think OSU had a horrific offensive line, they had surrendered only 17 sacks on the season coming into the evening, or just over two per game.
• CB Terrell Thomas recorded a rare interception for the Trojan secondary. Booty’s fumble was the only Trojan turnover of the evening, also an improvement for the team.
• Speaking of Booty, his first game back was nothing to write home about: 19-33, 157 yards, 2 TDs, and many passes that seemed to be just a touch off-target (often too high). Nevertheless, for a quarterback that missed the past three games, it was a decent performance. He was also able to involve nine different pass-catchers in the offense, including rare receptions for little-used tailbacks Allen Bradford and Hershel Dennis. (And if you see either of those players take the field outside of garbage time, you can be certain a pass will be called.)
• As a whole, the Trojan offense was able to eat a lot of time off the game clock, but outside of a 21-point second quarter, they were rarely able to put together lengthy drives, or convert what yards they did manage to gain (just 287 on the night) into points.
• USC’s running game had few (okay, zero) highlights on the evening, and the tailback rotation now appears to consist of Chauncey Washington in the first half, Stafon Johnson in the second half, and Joe McKnight here and there in between. McKnight, actually, seems to have replaced Desmond Reed not only as the punt returner but as the primary running back on third-down passing situations.
• Trojan fans who have been upset with the playcalling in recent weeks probably weren’t fond of the decision to run McKnight up the middle on third-and-long on two separate occasions, although it was nice to see more screen passes utilized than at any time in recent memory.
• Pete Carroll made the unusual decision (for him, at least) to attempt a long field goal not once but twice, with a 50% success rate. David Buehler missed from 48, but hit from 47, both in the first quarter.

Injury updates

• FB Alfred Rowe sprained his ankle while on special teams. His status is uncertain.
• S Taylor Mays was shaken up on a play near the end of the game, but he indicated after the game that he was not injured.
• As expected, Butch Lewis played LT for the duration of the game in place of the injured Sam Baker. Baker could miss next week’s game as well, although more will be known later in the week.
• CB Vincent Joseph was unavailable for the game. Scott Wolf reported that he was suspended by athletic director Mike Garrett for missing classes and/or tutoring sessions, while there were other reports that he was suffering from a knee injury.

Coverage roundup

Final stats for each team, and additional articles: TrojanUpdate’s Game Recap: USC-OSU

Booty throws 2 TDs as Trojans rip Beavers (AP via ESPN)
Trojans aren’t sad sacks (LA Times)
Thomas picks a good time to excel (LA Times)
Trojans get the payoff up front for a change (LA Times)
Dwyre: USC’s offense stays afloat with Sarkisian at the helm (LA Times)
USC’s defense dominates Oregon State (OC Register)
Miller: Trojans finally break through (OC Register)
USC does enough in win over Oregon State (Daily News)
Baker sits, could miss Cal game (Daily News)
Dilbeck: Trojans’ brave new world (Daily News)
USC gets back in Pac-10 race with 24-3 win over Oregon State (Press-Enterprise)
Patton: Trojans put on defensive show (Press-Enterprise)
Trojans Sack Beavers 24-3 (WeAreSC)
Trojans man up (Rivals, $)