Loss exposes Trojans as team in transition

EUGENE, Ore. -- The king is, if not dead, on a gurney.

There will be no national title this year, no parade, no visit to the White House.

Winning the conference title now will require major standings bypass surgery.

It’s hard to believe how fast Florida, defending national champion, has fallen after a loss to Georgia on Saturday dropped the Gators to 5-3.

The USC Trojans?

Oh yeah, them.

They lost too, 24-17, to Oregon, at raucous Autzen Stadium, in what amounted to a Pacific 10 Conference changing of the guard, tackle and tailback.

Scratch USC vs. Florida in this year’s Bowl Championship Series title game and pencil in . . . Oregon vs. Boston College?

It has been that kind of year and USC, like a lot of us, is now just along for the ride.

USC, this year’s preseason No .1 and Florida, last year’s postseason No. 1, are a combined 11-5 before Halloween, proving college football is not the same as it was last week, let alone last year, or two years ago, when USC lost out on a third consecutive national title when it failed to convert on fourth and two against Texas.

Weren’t the Trojans supposed to contend again this year?

“They were supposed to,” Oregon cornerback Patrick Chung said, “but we just beat them. Just because they’re USC doesn’t mean anything. They’re just another team. They’ve got great players but they’re just another team.”

Ouch?

Reality?

Try both:

The truth of USC football is that the Trojans were not as good as advertised and the Pac-10 was better than advertised.

USC has still lost only six games since 2002 by a total of 20 points, but four of those losses have come in the last two years -- all four against Pac-10 opponents.

It was a remarkable run -- five consecutive conference championships, five BCS bowl appearances, five years finishing in the top four in the Associated Press poll.

And now people are talking Armed Services Bowl?

“When they were beating people, they had a swagger when they went on the field,” Oregon tailback Jonathan Stewart, who had 103 yards in 25 carries, said of USC. “It’s missing a little bit, like they’ve been wounded a little bit. They have plenty of playmakers, but when they had Reggie Bush and those guys they had a determination.”

What is USC missing?

“Leadership?” Stewart said. “I don’t know.”

Oregon appears to have its best team since 2001, when the Ducks finished No. 2 in both polls but did not play for the national title because it finished No. 4 in the BCS.

Oregon looks like destiny’s team after starting the season unranked.

Who knew?

USC on Saturday started an inexperience backup quarterback, Mark Sanchez, who threw two costly interceptions.

Oregon started senior Dennis Dixon, the closest thing to Vince Young that USC’s defense has seen since the Rose Bowl in 2006.

There are few truths anymore in college football. You are not USC just because that’s what it says on your team bus, any more than you are Florida State or Miami.

The new order seems to change every week.

“I think this is just a different year,” Stewart said. “In all ways. The hungriest team is going to win, no matter what the historical facts are.”

USC is definitely a program caught (trapped?) in transition. Injuries at key positions (quarterback, offensive line) have obviously knocked the Trojans off rhythm.

Some years you might get away with it in the Pac-10, but the conference is as good right now as it has been in years.

“The competition gets greater and greater,” USC linebacker Rey Maualuga said.

It was supposed to be USC’s year, but it looks more like Oregon’s.

The Ducks control their fate and, if they win out, will win the Pac-10 title and go to the Rose Bowl. A little more juggling of the BCS big board might put Oregon in a bigger game.

As far as Saturday marking the beginning of the end for USC, well, that sounds more dramatic.

But it might not be true.

Chip Kelly, the Ducks’ first-year offensive coordinator, was a hero afterward despite the fact USC held Oregon to almost half its per-game scoring average. The Trojans defense gave up 339 yards after the Ducks had 661 last week against Washington.

This is Kelly’s first year in the Pac-10 after arriving from I-AA New Hampshire.

“They lose one game and the dynasty’s over?” Kelly said in response to questions about USC. “They lost a game. I’ll tell you, ask 118 teams if they want to play them. We played them once. We don’t want to play them again . . . that’s as good as defense as I’ve ever seen.”

USC bungled Saturday’s game as much as Oregon won it. The Trojans got only three points out of two first-half Oregon turnovers.

Oregon, conversely, made USC pay for its mistakes.

It was a 10-10 game in the third quarter when Stanley Havili’s fumble at USC’s 16 set up Stewart’s go-ahead touchdown run.

USC was driving for the tying score when Sanchez had a pass intercepted by Matthew Harper, and was driving for the tying score again late when Harper intercepted another pass by Sanchez.

USC’s motto this year was not supposed to be “It is what it is.”

But it is what it is.

“Losing has never been part of our tradition,” linebacker Keith Rivers said. “It’s not going to start now.”

Despite dropping to 6-2 and 3-2 in the Pac-10, it might still be interesting to see what USC can be if it can get out of its own way.

Opposing coordinators still drool at the Trojans’ talent.

“There are a lot of five-star players on that team,” Oregon defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti said.

The end of a dynasty?

“It may be over,” Maualuga said. “But there’s always a place for a new start.”

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chris.dufresne@latimes.com