Beavers 27, Trojans 21: Now that’s hard to type

John Canzano of the Oregonian newspaper in Portland suspects that some journalists may have been late on their deadlines Thursday night after Oregon State’s upset over top-ranked USC.

“It takes time to erase things like ‘dghkajdhdwx,’ ” he wrote. “You know, that’s what you get when your jaw smacks the center of your laptop keyboard when it becomes apparent that a program that looked adrift and confused three weeks ago had just slain a team that most of the voters in the polls regarded as the country’s best.”

Overlooked

Diminutive Beavers running back Jacquizz Rodgers, who gained 186 yards in 37 carries and scored two touchdowns in the 27-21 triumph, to the Oregonian, on whether he received a call, visit or even a form letter from USC recruiters:

“No sir, not a thing.”

Trivia time

When was the last year the Pittsburgh Pirates posted a winning record?

Out call

Columnist Mike Zanfardino, calling for the ouster of legendary football coach Steve Spurrier:

“With Spurrier’s coaching talent a thing of the past, all the University of South Carolina has been left with is a greedy, arrogant old man to whom they owe nearly $2 million each season.

“If the Gamecocks are going to win an SEC championship, they are going to have to do it under the leadership of a coach other than Steve Spurrier.”

Zanfardino writes for a student newspaper, the Daily Gamecock.

True blue

Nevada Coach Chris Ault takes his football team’s rivalry with Nevada Las Vegas seriously, so it’s understandable why he despises red.

He once associated three evils with the color: the devil, communism and UNLV.

Writes Dan Hinxman of the Reno Gazette-Journal: “He has said many times that his closet doesn’t have a speck of red in it. If he had to rank the greatest rock ‘n’ roll bands of all time, he’d probably put Blue Oyster Cult at No. 1 and Simply Red dead last.”

Trivia answer

In 1992, when they finished first at 96-66, after which Barry Bonds left to play for the San Francisco Giants.

And finally

From Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News: “If you still don’t think winning cures everything in sports, and I mean everything, look at the spit-polishing Manny Ramirez has done to his image because he’s hit the way he’s hit for the Dodgers.”

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pete.thomas@latimes.com