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It's been a long time coming for the Beavs By Don Hunt Lyndon Johnson was president. The Vietnam War was in full swing. And Dennis Erickson was playing quarterback for Montana State University. The year was 1967, and on a rainy, windy afternoon at Parker Stadium, the Oregon State Beavers shocked No. 1-ranked USC, 3-0. No one could have imagined it then, but the Trojans would reel off 26 straight victories over the Beavers spanning 33 years. The long drought came to a halt Saturday at Reser Stadium before a sellout crowd of 33,775. And Erickson, the OSU coach who is working miracles in Corvallis, was one happy man following the 31-21 victory over the No. 8-ranked Trojans. "People keep bringing up this 33-year thing and maybe now that will stop," Erickson said with a smile. "It�s just nice to get this albatross off our backs. "I think we�ve got our program to a point where we�ve got some respect in the Pac-10. More than anything, that�s what our players want." Respect, indeed. One season after Erickson helped OSU put some other demons to rest � namely 29 straight losing seasons and 35 consecutive seasons without a bowl bid � the Beavers are conquering other barriers. Their 4-0 start is their best since 1957. (A win next Saturday in Seattle over Washington would have them off to their best start since 1939). They�ve won six straight at Reser Stadium. Their bone-jarring defense leads the Pac-10. And Ken Simonton, their wonderful little tailback, burned USC for 234 yards and three touchdowns Saturday, the second-highest rushing total an opposing back has ever laid on the men of Troy. Simonton isn�t one to get caught up in statistics, but the numbers he rang up Saturday were not unlike the ones registered by former Trojan greats Mike Garrett, O.J. Simpson, Anthony Davis and Charles White. There was no small irony in the fact that while Simonton was running for more than 200 yards, USC, once known as Tailback U., totaled 63 yards on the ground. "We came into this game knowing we could run the ball on these guys," said Simonton, who stands just 5-foot-7 and weighs but 194 pounds but is tougher to wrap up than a bar of soap in the shower. "We feel like we can run the ball on anyone." The Beavers dominated the early part of the game, scoring on their first two possessions as quarterback Jonathan Smith hit Chad Johnson on a 15-yard touchdown pass and Simonton capped a nicely-executed 76-yard, eight-play drive with a nifty 20-yard TD run. At that point in the game � five minutes into the second period � OSU had built a commanding 171-11 advantage in total offense. But the Trojans weren�t ranked No. 8 because of the color of their jerseys. Quarterback Carson Palmer hooked up with Matt Nichols on a 12-yard touchdown pass to make it 14-7 and then the Trojans tied the game at 14 early in the second period when Zeke Moreno picked up a fumble and rumbled 80 yards to paydirt. In past years, that would have been the back-breaker for the Beavers, the play that signaled their demise. The play that sucked the adrenaline from their souls and took the crowd out of the game. But these are a different brand of Beavers. These Beavs have a refuse-to-lose mentality, a mindset that former coach Mike Riley brought to the program four years ago and one that Erickson has continued into the new millennium. "We never thought for one minute we were going to lose," said freshman linebacker Richard Seigler, who had seven unassisted tackles Saturday and a pair of assisted stops. "They didn�t intimidate us in the least." Smith, the OSU quarterback, added that while the Trojans may have come into the game with a 3-0 record and No. 8 ranking, "They didn�t look overpowering on film." "They barely beat San Jose State," he added. And so the Beavers weathered a couple of storms and then waited for a break of their own. It came with 12:51 left in the game when OSU strong safety Terrance Carroll laid a big hit on USC tailback Petros Papadakis. The ball squirted loose and OSU free safety Calvin Carlyle pounced on it at the Trojan 6-yard line. Three plays later, Simonton churned over right tackle 2 yards to paydirt, and the Beavers were on their way. OSU still had to sweat out an uncomfortable moment late in the game when punter Mike Fessler bobbled a snap deep in his own territory that led to an easy Trojan touchdown, trimming OSU�s lead to 24-21 with 2:26 to play. But the Beavers recovered an onside kick and Simonton put an exclamation point on the win when he raced 36 yards for the game�s final touchdown. Now it�s on to Seattle, where another big hurdle awaits. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.