Pac-12 Championship Monday: Notes

The Trojans are rejuvenated after the bye week, but they know that Stanford poses a huge test on Friday.

Here is the injury report, per head coach Clay Helton: DL Rasheem Green (held out with a shoulder injury), TE Tyler Petite (held out with a shoulder injury), WR Velus Jones Jr. (limited with an ankle injury), and OLB Porter Gustin (out with a toe injury).

The Trojans had two short practices last week before five consecutive days off which provided the team's first respite all season. "I worked out a couple times, but I didn't throw the ball at all," said QB Sam Darnold. "I tried to give my arm a good rest. For the most part, decided to relax, because I thought that's what my body needed."

While getting healthy will undoubtedly be a boost, USC was knocked out of its weekly routine by the holiday. "Rhythm is just you playing your game, staying true to yourself," said WR Tyler Vaughns. "This bye week was just us recovering, getting our legs back, so we should come back stronger."

On the other hand, Stanford played a physical game against Notre Dame on Saturday and now has to prepare for USC on short rest. "I don't think it's necessarily an advantage, because you could look at it the other way too," Darnold said about the bye. "They're on a roll and they're going to keep going. You can look at it from both ways."

The Trojans played perhaps their best game of the season in week two against Stanford, but the Cardinal have clearly gotten better since September. "Any time you go up against a David Shaw team, you know you are in for a physical battle," Helton said. "They've been a team that's gotten continuously better throughout the season. I was so impressed with the way that they played against Washington and Notre Dame."

Helton went on to praise the spine of Stanford's defense, calling out the nose tackle, middle linebacker and safety. That trio leads the team in tackles and has spurred the Cardinal's improvement stopping the run. "They're always super physical, and they're always in tune with their assignments on every single play," Darnold said about Stanford's defense. "Obviously they're really athletic, and it's going to be a great test. We're really looking forward to it."

Vaughns is more focused on USC than Stanford. "I think we can beat anybody we face. We've got to keep doing what we do," said the redshirt freshman wideout.

With rumors swirling out of Knoxville, OC Tee Martin, a Tennessee legend, was asked about the head coaching vacancy but declined to comment. Just like Helton earlier in the day, Darnold praised Martin's coaching ability, "He's a great teacher," he said. "In my eyes he would make a great head coach."

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