The Los Angeles Coliseum has been a place where a lot of great football games have been played. When No. 6 USC clashes with No. 14 Stanford on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at the Coliseum, it figures to be another one of those games that has Pac-12 and national implications. Both teams are 1-0 and both teams have great football tradition. USC’s 49-21 win over Western Michigan last Saturday was a good test for the Trojans. Although the name Western Michigan does not scare a lot of people, they are a very good football team. They were 13-1 last year and had a record of 40-23 during the last six years. The USC quarterback was not having his usual outstanding game so they turned to the ground game led by junior Ronald Jones II and freshman Stephen Carr. Jones ran the ball 18 times for 159 yards and Carr had 69 yards on seven carries. Stephen is a very explosive athlete and reminds me of this guy,said USC head coach Clay Helton as he touched Jones who was sitting next to him in the interview room after the game. If USC expects to beat Stanford it must stop the Cardinals’ running game. Western Michigan gained 263 yards on the ground against the Trojans. Part of USC’s problem on defense last Saturday was the absence in the first half of their defensive leader, inside linebacker Cameron Smith. Smith was suspended for the first half of the game because he was kicked out of the last game he played, the Rose Bowl game last January for an illegal hit on a Penn State player. With Smith back in the lineup in the second half the Trojans’ defense improved. Cameron is a team captain and a very good player so when he returned our defense got better, said Helton.
There were a lot of story lines in the game last Saturday but none bigger than a blind player playing major college football. Jake Olsen, a 225=pound long snapper on the kicking team made his college debut during the last few minutes of the fourth quarter. Olsen lost his sight when he was 12 years old. It was an awesome feeling and it’s something I will never forget, said a happy Olsen after the game. I still can’t believe it but I had a job to do. This team is like a family. It’s a brotherhood
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