Oregon State had not won at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum since 1960. Chase Nolan threw four touchdown passes and the Beavers snapped a 24-game losing streak at the Coliseum with a 45-27 win over USC on Saturday night.
USC dropped to 2-2 and suffered their second straight loss at home. Oregon State had their way with the USC defense by gaining 532 yards. B.J. Baylor led the Beavers with 23 carries for 158 yards.
“Well, tonight just wasn’t our night,” USC interim head coach Donte Williams said. “Oregon State, tonight they outcoached us, they outplayed us, and it will all get fixed. I promise you that.”
Kedon Slovis threw an interception on USC’s opening possession. Oregon State capitalized on the turnover with Nolan’s 27-yard touchdown pass to a wide open Teagan Quitoriano for a 7-0 lead.
USC didn’t waste any time with a 5-play, 75-yard drive that was capped by a Slovis 7-yard touchdown pass to Gary Bryant Jr. The Trojans took a 14-7 lead in the second quarter after Keaontay Ingram picked up the bobbled snap and scored on a 9-yard run.
OSU tied it 14-14 on Tyjon Lindsey’s 13-yard touchdown reception and took a 21-14 lead with just under a minute left in the first half when Nolan hit Tre’Shaun Harrison for a 36-yard touchdown.
“I think o-line did a great job all night,” Nolan said. “Opening lanes for the running game and giving me time so I could find my receivers downfield. A lot of it was on the o-line. They played a hell of a game today.”
Lindsey caught his second touchdown of the game in the third quarter and linebacker Jack Colletto scored from a yard out to give Oregon State a commanding 35-17 lead. Colletto added a second touchdown in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach.
Slovis threw for 355 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. Drake London finished with 10 receptions for 165 yards. The 45 points scored by Oregon State were its most ever in the 79-game history of the series. The previous most points scored by Oregon State against USC were 38 in 1914.
“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.”
USC will look to bounce back next Saturday when they travel to play Colorado. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m.
