USC vs. Oregon State: Breaking Down The Oregon State Beavers

With the bye week in the rearview mirror, the USC Trojans return to practice on Tuesday in preparation for the undefeated Oregon State Beavers, a 3-0 squad featuring the talents of poised senior quarterback Sean Mannion and former Trojan, current OSU head coach Mike Riley.

After crushing the demons of a trip up to Corvallis last season, led by interim coach Ed Orgeron, the Trojans hope to repeat their home success against Oregon State, which has not beat USC at the Coliseum since 1960.

Now resting at No. 18 overall in the AP rankings, the Trojans are in need of some big victories in Pac-12 play. Led by efficient quarterback passer Cody Kessler, USC's offense is running at a clip of about 23 seconds per play, an average slightly below Steve Sarkisian's expectations but still in good taste.

Days away from a late-night Saturday kickoff, the Trojans will assess some issues in the run game (facing the nation's best third down defense) and try to slow down the high-flying Beavers' passing game, which lost their best wide receiver, Victor Bolden, to injury this week.

What Does The Sark Say

Media Guide Notes

• USC leads its series with Oregon State, 60-11-4, dating back to 1914. The Trojans have won 33 of the last 37 meetings (a loss in 2000 snapped USC's Pac-10 record of 26 consecutive victories), but OSU has won three of the past six games.
• This will be the 76th meeting between USC and Oregon State, but only the second time the game has been played on Sept. 27 in history.
• USC has a 172-44-8 (.786) all-time record while playing in the month of September and USC owns a 152-47-4 (.759) record at night, including 89-25-4 in the Coliseum.
• USC has won 70.2% (436-178-29) of its games against Pac-12 opponents.