Tough loss, here’s the review:

• Positive – Defensive Play

• Even though the defense gave up 24 points (17 when you take away the TD after Havili’s fumble), I thought they played a solid game and came through with clutch stops when the offense needed a chance.  We held Jonathan Stewart (not counting blow-out games) and the Oregon offense to season-lows and prevented any momentum-shifting big plays.  Even with a struggling offense, we had a solid chance at sending the game to OT and that came mainly through our defensive play. 

• Negative – Penalties/Turnovers/Offensive Play-calling

• Where do I begin?  People often say that you can’t have a game-deciding play in the 1st half, but I really believe our inability to convert on the 4th and 1 in the 1st quarter really dealt a huge blow to our chances.  That single play could have relieved pressure off our offense, quieted the crowd momentarily (not energizing), obviously given ourselves a 1 TD cushion, set the tone for the game, etc.  Blame it on Chilo Rachal’s idiotic personal foul or Steve Sarkisian’s mind-boggling call to run an end-around with Joe McKnight, the RB with the most negative-yard plays, but all I know is it put us in a hole early.  That single play pretty much epitomized the theme of this game.

Some people might ask why I didn’t mention Mark Sanchez’s two INTs in this section, but I find it hard to criticize him considering the circumstances.  Matt Leinart lost his 4th game as a starter against a 2-3 Cal team and JDB lost his 7th game as a starter against a 4-3 Oregon State team; Mark was placed in a FAR more difficult situation than those two.  Am I saying Mark doesn’t deserve any blame?  Of course not, he did make those throws and deserves some criticism for them, but considering the circumstances I don’t think he needs to be singled out. 

• Player of the Game – Patrick Turner

• Isn’t it frustrating to watch Patrick step it up in pressure situations and fade away against team he should dominate?  You just know he has the talent to be a big-time receiver yet there is something missing in the overall equation – I think I speak for a lot of Trojan fans.  PT turned in a 7 rec. 107 yard and 1 TD performance and for that he deserves to be POG.  He made several clutch catches and played a major part in keeping us in the game. 

• Play of the Game – Mark Sanchez’s 14 Yard Pass to David Ausberry

• With Aus streaking up the sideline, Mark delivered a beautiful throw that landed right beyond the outside shoulder of the CB’s shoulder and into the hands of DA who still had plenty of room to keep his feet in-bounds.  It capped a clutch 85 yard drive led by Sanchez. 

• Final Thoughts… – QB Situation

• I’ve made my opinions clear in the past few weeks on who I believe the starting QB for SC should be, but this week I’m going to give the nod to JDB (assuming he’s ready) not because I believe he’s the better QB, but because, given our situation (i.e. no longer being in the NC picture) and playing Oregon State at home, it’s the honorable thing to do.  It doesn’t mean he gets the starting spot permanently, just a shot to keep his job.  If he plays poorly, you still have Mark in the wing, and if he plays well, he is capable (didn’t say best option) of leading the team to victory the rest of the way.  We all like to believe that it’s all about true competition and putting ourselves in the best position to win, but let’s be real here, we all know circumstances play a huge part in it….

I want to say it’s a relief to have a game this week at home against a middle-of-the-road Pac-10, but the last time I said that we lost to Stanford…