Trojans’ Record Is Pretty Rank

With the 17-13 loss to Oregon on Saturday, the Trojans are now 0-5 against ranked opponents over the last two seasons, with their last victory over a ranked team against No. 10 Notre Dame in 1996.

Besides Saturday’s loss to No. 12 Oregon, the other losses against teams in the Associated Press Top 25 were to No. 10 Florida State this season, and to No. 7 UCLA, No. 7 Washington and No. 5 Florida State last season.

That means that USC’s freshmen and true sophomores--including such standout players as defensive backs Antuan Simmons and Ifeanyi Ohalete and tight end Antoine Harris--have never beaten a ranked team.

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Carson Palmer played seven series to Mike Van Raaphorst’s six against Oregon, the second game in a row the freshman backup has played more than the starting quarterback.

But in case you were wondering, as of Sunday, Coach Paul Hackett’s stance hadn’t changed: Van Raaphorst will start against Washington.

Van Raaphorst was at the helm for USC’s only touchdown and guided drives that ended in three missed field goals.

Hackett went with Palmer, who drove USC to two field goals, because of his mobility in the pocket and proven ability to rally the team. But the difficulty USC has getting the plays in with Palmer at quarterback contributed to the delay-of-game penalty that nullified the potential tying touchdown.

Hackett says he’s reluctant to send the plays in by a receiver because the message might get lost in communication.

Even that would be better than losing a touchdown on a penalty.

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USC was four for 15 on third-down conversions--including 0 for 3 in the fourth quarter.

“We missed on a number of third-down opportunities,” Hackett said. “Offensively and defensively, [Oregon] made the big play and we didn’t make the big play.”