USC postgame « Cliff Kirkpatrick

category: OSU Sports

USC postgame 465CommentsUSC+postgame2008-09-26+05%3A05%3A49Cliff+Kirkpatrick

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OK, that was a wild one. The Oregon State football team has become known for upsetting teams but this was a big one. It’s not often No. 1 falls at the hands of the Beavers. It was only the second time.

Enjoy the video of the wild celebration on the field after the game. “That was great,” RB Jacquizz Rodgers said. “I’ve never witnessed anything like that before. To be on the field with that was nice.”

The video on the bottom of the blog is QB Lyle Moevao and his offensive linemen in the postgame interview.

“Right now, I’m just happy to celebrate with these guys,” Moevao said. “They do this every day, in and out. I also want to give the praise and glory to the Man upstairs.”

Big play performance
My OSU player to watch for in our weekly Game Day section and on the blog was S Greg Laybourn. He was the team’s leading tackler and has a knack for being in the right place at the right time.

That was the case again for this game. He led the team in tackling with 11 and had an INT at the end of the game to all but seal it for the Beavers. He returned it 28 yards to the 2-yard line and set up a Rodgers TD.

“That was a route teams have been hitting on us, so we knew they would try to hit it,” Laybourn said. “I got a good break on it, but I think he just overthrew it. I don’t know if the pressure got to him or not. Their timing was off. I was in the right place at the right time.”

Laybourn played with an extra brace around his neck because of a stinger suffered from the last game, but still ended up being the defensive hero among many standouts.

“It hasn’t set in, yet,” Laybourn said of the result. “It was just like two years ago. We got up and they came fighting back. A team as good as they are doesn’t roll over. It was pretty exciting to win it like that at home.”

My co-worker Kevin Hampton laughed at my picks for the players to watch because the USC player to watch was Rey Maualuga, who is all-everything while Laybourn is a former walk-on.

Hampton said it pointed to the difference of the two programs. Yes, it does but I guess it didn’t matter.

Quick hits
+ The attendance was 42,839. No it wasn’t a sellout. There was a record student crowd of 8,500.
“We knew it was coming when we came to practice (Monday) and the line was wrapped around Gill,” Laybourn said. “It was good to have the backing of the students, especially since we got off to a slow start.”
+ WR Sammie Stroughter hurt his hip at the end of the first half, and played sparingly in the second half. Taylor Kavanaugh had to return punts in the second half.
+ CB Brandon Hughes (thigh) missed the second half.
+ Rodgers (ankle) was hurt on his last TD run at the end of the game.

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465CommentsUSC+postgame2008-09-26+05%3A05%3A49Cliff+Kirkpatrick

tigger says:

September 25, 2008 at 11:19 pm

What more needs to be said….it’s a big W for OSU!!! Great game guys!!!

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Joe A says:

September 25, 2008 at 11:40 pm

I think now would be a good time for FireMikeRiley.com to remind us of our coaching shortcomings.

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Matt Bixby says:

September 25, 2008 at 11:43 pm

Cliff,

I think “Go to bed, Hunter” has to be your coolest blog post ever.

Go Beavs!

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Matt Bixby says:

September 25, 2008 at 11:52 pm

Joe, I hope the RileyCritics don’t try to use this monumental win as a means to dog the Beaver Coach.

Lord knows, home field advantage is huge in college football, especially when a team is fired up and getting confidence.

Starting the 2008 season on the road with so many question marks was very tough.

No, OSU didn’t have to play that schedule. They could’ve played a homer against Directional Tech, and taken the road not-so-challenging to the Kibbie Dome to play the second end of the Idaho series.

Beaver Nation would have been 3-0 going into tonight’s game – and I can almost guarantee you they would have lost to USC.

The team had to “man up” after the Penn State debacle – and that’s what it was – but they learned from the mess (they learned they can’t be intimidated) and have gotten better.

Sorry Ryan McCants, I hope you don’t leave, but Jacquizz is AMAZING! He’s a faster Sanders-esque version of Ken Simonton, my all-time favorite Beaver. I think by the time #1 is graduated, he may be my #1.

Way to go, Beavers!

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aaron says:

September 26, 2008 at 5:28 am

that was a beautifully called game offensively.the best i have seen from osu since ican remember. great on defense too

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jud Blakely says:

September 26, 2008 at 5:41 am

There is a nail, the nail’s got a head, and Matt Bixby, at 11:52 PM, absolutely hit it.

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mike says:

September 26, 2008 at 6:13 am

any word on the injuries and status for utah game?

thanks!

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Lee Hower says:

September 26, 2008 at 8:50 am

Holy smokes! Two years ago, I was there in Corvallis for Dad’s Weekend with the thrilling 33-31 victory over USC. Last night, I was the host for the Alumni Assocation game watch at a local sports bar in Sacramento, probably the most popular one in town. We had about 14 Beaver fans, but surprisingly about the same number of USC fans – I would have expected more. And this morning, I’m just starting to get my voice back.

Although I’m in Sacramento, my daughter was back on campus, even though she graduated in June, and she got tickets to the game, and ended up in the student section on the 50 yard line. Her texts through the game were “Oh my gosh! It’s incredible!”, “Em [her friend] and I are at the 50 yard line in the students section! It’s awesome!” and “Wow! What a game, right Dad?” And no, she didn’t storm the field, but I think headed over to Clodfelters. I was proud for her, proud for me, and proud for all of us.

When I went to the sports bar last night, I brought along a 11×17 photo that I took of the old scoreboard in 2006, that had as a message, “Great Day to be a Beaver”. Well, we repeated that. I loved watching all the students stream onto the field. I wanted to be with them.

This morning, instead of my usual coat and tie (although yesterday the shirt was orange and the tie was an OSU orange and black striped one), today I went casual, topped off with my orange OREGON STATE hoodie. Even my bus driver complimented our win.

To all of Beaver Nation: Wow. We did it again. Go Beavs. See you in Corvallis at Homecoming.

Lee Hower ‘73
Sacramento, CA

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Lee Hower says:

September 26, 2008 at 8:53 am

One other thing. Here in Sacramento, there’s an OL on a high school team that’s being recruited by OSU. He and his mom went up to the Hawaii game, and he loved everything about the school and campus.

This morning, I saw his mom on the bus. She said he was dazzled by the game, and especially by the fan support. The way OSU played, and the way the students and fans supported the team, there is little doubt that OSU is his first choice.

Lee

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JuneauJim says:

September 26, 2008 at 10:24 am

Great posts Lee!

Juneau doesn’t have a sports bar, so my wife and I huddled around our 19″ TV.

What a game!

I got a tear in my eye when the students got ready to storm the field (although prematurely). As a student in 1983, we did that as part of a crowd of 22,000. We beat Stanford for our first Pac-10 win since 1979.

We got a tie that year too! 0-0 vs Oregon.

Every day is a winding road….

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Tom says:

September 26, 2008 at 10:59 am

I don’t think we can overemphasize how well the O line played last night. Most of the time there were great big holes for Rodgers to hit, even though he obviously doesn’t need a ton of space to squeeze through. The big boys up front played like they were possessed. It seemed like they left the entire SC defensive line in a big tidy pile on a lot of plays.

Bravo! Go Beavs!

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nick says:

September 26, 2008 at 11:44 am

What’s the status of the injuries? Stroughter looked as if he took a pretty solid hit and I’m hoping it’s not the same ankle that quizz hurt earlier in the season. Thanks for the info cliff!

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Cliff Kirkpatrick says:

September 26, 2008 at 11:54 am

On the injuries question, I get asked that as early at 6 a.m. the day after each game. The players are still still sleeping at that point. They don’t show up to VFC until the afternoon.

The trainer looks at them, and team run and works out. That’s when info is figured out. I’ll have an update for the next day’s paper, and probably the blog tonight.

However, Jacquizz Rodges walked into the interview fine last night. Stroughter, he was good enough to play some but I bet he has a deep bruise.

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sdbeav24 says:

September 26, 2008 at 3:11 pm

Curious if Lalich was at the game lastnight? If so it either sealed it for him or he now thinks that it would be a little more difficult to unseat Lyle as the starter next year and heads elsewhere.

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Matt Bixby says:

September 26, 2008 at 10:35 pm

Thanks Jud for the vote of confidence – I’m not sure I’ve ever hit the nail before.

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O-state, not just a team, a program says:

September 27, 2008 at 10:59 pm

Lyle:

class move bringing the line out with you. Next time let them answer a question. That’s why you brought them out right? to get a little notoriety? Well, give them the chance to be the one that gets quoted.

great game, great win.

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Cliff Kirkpatrick says:

September 28, 2008 at 9:31 am

The video clip lasted only three minutes. The memory card was full. There was more. Adam Speer had his extended turn and others were interviewed one-on-one.

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Cornvalleyrunner says:

September 28, 2008 at 3:36 pm

Does anyone know if there will be a rebroadcast of the game? I could watch it over and over!

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Matt Bixby says:

September 29, 2008 at 12:33 pm

Cornvalleyrunner,

Look for it as an ESPN Classic. Aside from that, try to find a friend that has a DVR and a DVD Recorder.

Good luck!

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