The College Football BeltThe CFB Belt
Belt / 2004 season / Reign #258 · Game 1,348 of 1,643
November 6, 2004 Week 11 · Regular Season Belt defended

USC defends the belt, 28–20, on the road at Oregon State.

Home · Challenger
Oregon State 20
AT
Away · Defending Holder
USCAP No. 1 28

AP poll, week 11: USC No. 1 at Oregon State unranked · No. 1 that week: Wisconsin. The belt vs. the polls →

Belt context

Where this game sits in the lineage

USC came in 310 days into reign #258, which began with a win over Michigan, with 8 defenses already behind it; this was its 9th defense. USC went on to defend it 16 more times before Texas took it on January 4, 2006, 734 days after the reign began.

For Oregon State this was its 18th shot at the belt; it had held the belt twice before.

It was the 7th of 7 belt games between the two; going in, USC led the belt series 4–0–2; all-time USC leads 5–0–2. Every meeting →

AI-Written

Recap

Oregon State struck first with two field goals from Alexis Serna in the first quarter to take an early 6-0 lead, but USC's defense stiffened as the game progressed. The Beavers extended their lead to 13-0 with a touchdown pass from Derek Anderson to Marcel Love in the second quarter, but Matt Leinart and the Trojans answered immediately with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Dominique Byrd before halftime. USC took control in the second half when Leinart found Byrd again for a 25-yard touchdown in the third quarter to go ahead 20-13, and despite Oregon State's offensive struggles—highlighted by their devastating 0-for-13 third-down performance—the Beavers could never quite recover. USC's defense generated four turnovers, including three interceptions of Anderson, to preserve the belt despite being outgained in total yards.

Written by Claude from the box score and play-by-play on this page — a plain-English recap of the numbers below, not a substitute for them.

Full Box Score

Team stats

CFBD box score
 Oregon StateUSC
Total yards364415
Rushing yards34210
Passing yards359211
First downs2120
3rd down conv.0/136/17
Turnovers33
Penalties–yards0–00–0
Time of possession16:2019:34

Full team box score from CFBD’s /games/teams data. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have team-level stats that far back.

Play By Play

Key plays

CFBD play-by-play
WhenTeamYardsPlay
Q1 6:24USC+0 ydTrojans fumble by Reggie Bush (USC), recovered by Gerard Lawson (OSU), returned for no gain.
Q1 4:15Oregon State+25 yd25 yard field goal by Alexis Serna (OSU) is good.
Q1 1:45Oregon State+33 yd33 yard field goal by Alexis Serna (OSU) is good.
Q1 2:26Oregon State+25 ydDerek Anderson (OSU) pass left side complete to Mike Hass (OSU) for 25 yards.
Q1 1:41Oregon State+32 ydKickoff returned by Desmond Reed (USC) for 32 yards.
Q2 14:55USC+0 ydTrojans 43 yard field goal attempt blocked, recovered by Mitch Meeuwsen (OSU).
Q2 9:45Oregon State+8 ydDerek Anderson (OSU) pass across the middle complete to Marcel Love (OSU) for a 8 yard touchdown.
Q2 9:45Oregon State+0 ydExtra point by Alexis Serna (OSU) is good.
Q2 9:44Oregon State+37 ydDerek Anderson (OSU) pass left side complete to Joe Newton (OSU) for 37 yards.
Q2 9:44Oregon State+14 ydBeavers fumble by Joe Newton (OSU), recovered by Mike Hass (OSU), 14 yard advance.
Q2 9:02Oregon State+30 ydKickoff returned by Reggie Bush (USC) for 30 yards.
Q2 4:30USC+18 ydMatt Leinart (USC) pass left side complete to Dominique Byrd (USC) for a 18 yard touchdown.
Q2 4:30USC+0 ydExtra point by Ryan Killeen (USC) is good.
Q2 5:15USC+44 ydReggie Bush (USC) rushed right side for 44 yards.
Q2 4:12USC+25 ydKickoff returned by Dwight Wright Jr. (OSU) for 25 yards.
Q2 0:42USC+0 ydMatt Leinart (USC) pass across the middle intercepted by Mitch Meeuwsen (OSU). Returned for no gain.
Q3 14:30USC+0 ydTrojans fumble by LenDale White (USC), recovered by Aric Williams (OSU), returned for no gain.
Q3 13:52Oregon State+2 ydDerek Anderson (OSU) pass left side intercepted by Lofa Tatupu (USC). Returned for 2 yards.
Q3 12:32USC+25 ydMatt Leinart (USC) pass right side complete to Dominique Byrd (USC) for a 25 yard touchdown.
Q3 12:32USC+0 ydExtra point by Ryan Killeen (USC) is good.
Q3 6:39Oregon State+14 ydDerek Anderson (OSU) pass left side intercepted by Jason Leach (USC). Returned for 14 yards.
Q3 7:12Oregon State+38 ydDwight Wright Jr. (OSU) rushed left side for 38 yards.
Q3 3:32Oregon State+20 ydDerek Anderson (OSU) pass across the middle complete to Mike Hass (OSU) for 20 yards.
Q3 2:33Oregon State+21 ydDwight Wright Jr. (OSU) rushed left side for 21 yards.
Q3 1:00Oregon State+0 ydBeavers fumble by Dwight Wright Jr. (OSU), recovered by Matt Grootegoed (USC), returned for no gain.
Q3 0:40USC+28 ydMatt Leinart (USC) pass left side complete to Dominique Byrd (USC) for 28 yards.
Q4 14:11USC+45 yd45 yard field goal by Ryan Killeen (USC) is no good.
Q4 12:50USC+0 ydExtra point by Ryan Killeen (USC) is good.
Q4 12:50Oregon State+65 ydPunt by Sam Paulescu (OSU) returned 65 yards by Reggie Bush (USC) for a touchdown.
Q4 12:27USC+20 ydKickoff returned by Lamar Herron (OSU) for 20 yards.
Q4 12:21Oregon State+20 ydDerek Anderson (OSU) pass left side complete to Joe Newton (OSU) for 20 yards.
Q4 7:41USC+0 ydExtra point by Ryan Killeen (USC) is good.
Q4 7:41USC+5 ydLenDale White (USC) rushed up the middle for a 5 yard touchdown.
Q4 11:01USC+48 ydMatt Leinart (USC) pass left side complete to Alex Holmes (USC) for 48 yards.
Q4 3:48USC+0 ydTrojans fumble by Dominique Byrd (USC), recovered by Dominique Byrd (USC), advanced for no gain.
Q4 4:46USC+0 ydTrojans fumble by LenDale White (USC), recovered by Dominique Byrd (USC), advanced for no gain.
Q4 3:48Oregon State+21 ydDerek Anderson (OSU) pass left side complete to Marcel Love (OSU) for 21 yards.
Q4 2:44Oregon State+36 ydDerek Anderson (OSU) pass left side complete to Josh Hawkins (OSU) for a 36 yard touchdown.
Q4 2:44Oregon State+0 ydExtra point by Alexis Serna (OSU) is good.

Scoring plays, turnovers, and gains of 20+ yards, pulled from CFBD’s play-by-play. This section only appears for belt games with play-by-play on file (2003 onward).

Box Score

Player stats

CFBD player stats

Passing

Oregon State

PlayerC/ATTYDSAVGTDINTQBR
Derek Anderson22/513306.52216.4

USC

PlayerC/ATTYDSAVGTDINTQBR
Matt Leinart17/312056.62154.3

Rushing

Oregon State

PlayerCARYDSAVGTDLONG
Dwight Wright Jr.12605.0038
Ryan Cole4-3-0.802
Derek Anderson9-23-2.603

USC

PlayerCARYDSAVGTDLONG
LenDale White251164.6118
Reggie Bush11888.0044
Matt Leinart5122.4015

Receiving

Oregon State

PlayerRECYDSAVGTDLONG
Mike Hass811914.9025
Joe Newton47518.8037
Marcel Love57114.2121
Josh Hawkins13636.0136
Dwight Wright Jr.1-2-2.000

USC

PlayerRECYDSAVGTDLONG
Dominique Byrd78512.1228
Alex Holmes36020.0048
Dwayne Jarrett22110.5015
David Kirtman11717.0017
Jason Mitchell11111.0011
Reggie Bush263.004
LenDale White155.005
Show more stats (4 more categories)

Interceptions

Oregon State

PlayerINTYDSTD
Mitch Meeuwsen100

USC

PlayerINTYDSTD
Jason Leach1140
Lofa Tatupu120

Kicking

Oregon State

PlayerFGPCTLONGXPPTS
Alexis Serna2/2100.0332/28

USC

PlayerFGPCTLONGXPPTS
Ryan Killeen0/20.004/44

Punt Returns

Oregon State

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Sammie Stroughter3196.3140

USC

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Reggie Bush37324.3651

Punting

Oregon State

PlayerNOYDSAVGTBIn 20LONG
Sam Paulescu837246.50058

USC

PlayerNOYDSAVGTBIn 20LONG
Tom Malone730243.10054

Full player stats from CFBD’s /games/players data, split out by team. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have player-level stats that far back. Linked player names go to that player’s stat line in every other belt game they’ve appeared in.

Sources Box score at ESPN · Game record: College Football Data (id 243110204) · This game in the downloadable dataset