What They're Saying...

What the media, coaches and players are saying after USC's 52-28 victory over Oregon State.

Trojans look sweet against OSU to make case for Sugar Bowl
They are not the national champions yet, not even in the national championship game. Yet.

But on a warm, hazy Saturday, before a Coliseum crowd of nearly 74,000 and a national television audience, the Trojans did their best to make a 52-28 undoing of Oregon State wield enough influence to plant USC in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 4 for all of college football's marbles...Bob Rodman, Register Guard

Not to sweet
Oregon State couldn't crash USC's party Saturday, and today the Trojans could learn that they're headed for the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans and the Jan. 4 national championship game.

The Trojans parlayed their own considerable talent, five Beaver turnovers and some grievous special-team mistakes into a 52-28 victory before a jovial crowd of 73,864 that spent much of the fourth quarter dumping sugar granules on each other's heads like so much confectionary confetti and lobbing sugar cubes onto the close-cropped Memorial Coliseum turf...Brooks Hatch, Gazette Times

Anderson has record day, but No. 2 USC throttles OSU 52-28
Oregon State needed a near-perfect performance if it hoped to shock the world with an upset over second-ranked Southern California Saturday.  That didn't happen. Not even close.

The Beavers were game and their pass offense even potent, but the old bugaboo - mistakes -- were too much to overcome as the Trojans ran away with a 52-28 victory before a crowd of 73,864 at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum.

USC quarterback Matt Leinart tied Carson Palmer's school record with five touchdown passes and the Trojans (11-1 overall, 7-1 in Pac-10 play) benefited from five Oregon State turnovers...Kerry Eggers, Portland Tribune

Beavers no match for Trojans
Having made their points on the field, the USC Trojans stated their case for a trip to New Orleans and a shot at the national title.

“We deserve to go. We’re 11-1 and we’ve been playing well the last couple of months. I think we’ve done as much as we can do. But it’s not in our hands,” Matt Leinart said Saturday after throwing for five touchdowns in the second-ranked Trojans’ 52-28 victory over Oregon State...Ken Peters, Associated Press

Beavers still have a lot of confidence in their quarterback
He took a lot of hits in the Oregon game and he took a beating in the USC game but there was no question Oregon State quarterback Derek Anderson could have taken even more Saturday at the Coliseum. He was disappointed with a 52-28 loss to the second-ranked Trojans, a game in which he threw for a school-record 485 yards and two touchdowns, but proud of his effort and his teammates' effort.

"I'm getting better, I think," Anderson said. "We made some bad mistakes. There were a couple of throws I wish I had back. . . . But (mistakes) are going to happen in a game like this. We had to work for every yard we got and I think we had them on their heels for a while."...Paul Buker and Ken Goe, Oregonian

Trojans make their case
Oregon State had the athletes to hang with No. 2 USC for a long time Saturday afternoon in front of 73,864 at the Coliseum, but the Trojans took advantage of five turnovers and the Beavers' horrible special teams play to take a 52-28 victory -- a win they hope vaults them into the national championship game.

Oregon State (7-5, 4-4 Pacific-10 Conference ) stunned USC (11-1, 7-1) with a 90-yard pass to Mike Hass on the second play of the game and Beavers quarterback Derek Anderson knew his offense was poised for a big day...Paul Buker, Oregonian

USC doesn't see anything on defense it can't fix
With sugar cubes still littering the Los Angeles Coliseum field, only a spoilsport would question whether USC actually belongs in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 4, playing for the national championship.

The Trojans' 52-28 victory over Oregon State on Saturday passes the scoreboard test, but the game raised some troubling questions about USC's defense...Ken Goe, Oregonian

USC blows out Oregon State
USC will probably be ranked No. 1 in both top 25 polls today and still might find itself shut out of the Sugar Bowl.

That's the unexpected scenario facing the Trojans, who instead face the possibility of going to the Rose Bowl with a chance to win part of the national championship...Scott Wolf, Press Telegram