They had won five straight games including 35 straight wins at home. They had also won 24 straight Pac 10 games at home, have some of the best talent in the country and were facing a backup quarterback commanding a 1-3 team. And for the second year in a row, USC coughed up a game they shouldn’t have when they were upset by Stanford 24-23 Saturday night.
What a defensive effort by Stanford, intercepting quarterback John David Booty four times, including one in the fourth quarter that preserved the win. You got the feeling that if the Cardinal stuck around long enough, they would pull off the upset – and they didn’t disappoint in a thrilling finish.
The loss put Pete Carroll’s bunch in a familiar situation. Last year the Trojans were tripped up by Oregon State and UCLA, but at least those were road games. This loss to Stanford was at home and to a sophomore quarterback that had previously attempted just three passes.
This upset is just another example of why preseason polls in college football mean next to nothing.
