USC Football Falls To Oregon State, 45-27
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Chance Nolan threw four touchdown passes and Oregon State beat USC 45-27 on Saturday night.
Tyjon Lindsey had five receptions for 102 yards and two touchdowns and B.J. Baylor ran for 158 yards.
Kedon Slovis threw for 355 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions as the Trojans (2-2, 1-2) lost their second straight home game as double-digit favorites. It was the first home game for interim coach Donte Williams, who replaced Clay Helton two days after a 42-28 loss to Stanford on September 11.
"Well, tonight just wasn't our night," Williams said. "Oregon State, tonight they outcoached us, they outplayed us, and it will all get fixed. I promise you that."
Oregon State (3-1, 1-0 Pac-12) used its dominant run game and Nolan's precise passing to methodically wear down USC, scoring touchdowns on five straight drives starting in the second quarter. That included consecutive 92-yard marches, the latter capped by Tre'Shaun Harrison's 36-yard scoring grab with 44 seconds left in the first half that put the Beavers up for good.
Nolan was 15-of-19 passing for 213 yards, though he did throw his first two interceptions of the season, and added 57 yards rushing.
Oregon State ran for 319 yards, repeatedly gashing USC's defense with fly sweeps and other runs to the perimeter. Those plays opened up play-action passes, with tight end Teagan Quitoriano left all alone to catch Nolan's opening touchdown.
Inside linebacker Jack Colletto added two short scoring runs on direct snaps, and he picked off Slovis late in the fourth quarter.
With freshman quarterback Jaxson Dart unavailable because of a knee injury sustained after coming off the bench to lead the Trojans' win at Washington State, Slovis started as the Trojans' signal caller.
"This is not gonna turn around overnight," Slovis said. "We're trying to build something here, and Coach Donte has done a great job of starting to hold guys accountable and changing the culture and building the culture. You're not gonna see it chance in one week, and we have a lot of work to do, and the main thing, the message we're kind of having is we got to stay together and stay up."
Keaontay Ingram offered some pop in the ground game for USC in the first half. He finished with with 79 yards rushing and two touchdowns.
👉 @keaontay_ingram punches it in to give the Trojans the lead!
USC 14 | ORST 7
📺 @FS1 #FightOn✌️ pic.twitter.com/NKmMAbMDBI
— USC Football (@USC_FB) September 26, 2021
Dart will be week to week after he underwent surgery to repair his meniscus, Williams said.
UP NEXT
USC: The Trojans have an early start at Colorado on Saturday, with kickoff set for the equivalent of 11 a.m. in Los Angeles.