With a little extra time to prepare, the Trojans are focused on the task at hand as the team gears up for its Thursday night showdown against the California Golden Bears.
- In a typical "Tuesday" practice, the players continued to shake out the cobwebs after their much-needed week off. Head coach Steve Sarkisian was much more impressed with the team's performance on Sunday specifically highlighting WR George Farmer's effort.
- USC lost LT Chad Wheeler for the season against Utah but the young offensive line didn't miss a beat last week against Washington State aside from a little difficulty establishing the running game as the Trojans only had 127 yards on the ground. "I always want to have the ability to run the football regardless of the scenario or situation. Granted you have to have the right schemes in place to do it but you also want a group that no matter what can dig down and get the job done," said Sarkisian.
- True freshman Toa Lobendahn replaced Wheeler at left tackle against Washington State, a position he has yet to play this season, but Sarkisian did rotate him in at that position during fall camp. QB Cody Kessler praised Lobendahn's talent saying, "People don't realize how hard that is to play guard as a true freshman then switch to left tackle which is one of the toughest positions to play in college football and to do it so well."
- Another area for improvement for the offensive line is fixing the occasional snapping difficulties at center. In weeks past, snapping has been an issue for Max Tuerk; however he is hopeful he's found a solution as the center has begun wearing fingerless gloves that give him a better grip for snapping.
- The Trojan offense will have to rely heavily on their offensive line on Thursday as they face a tough front from the Golden Bears. After a week's worth of film, Kessler said that the biggest threat comes from the Bears' smart linebacker corps that will look to bring a lot of pressure.
- If anyone can handle the pressure, it's Kessler as he is the only quarterback in the nation to have thrown as many passes with only two interceptions. He's third nationally in completion percentage (69.7%) and is on pace to break the USC season record of 69.1 percent set by Matt Barkley in 2011. He's also on pace to set the USC season record for passing efficiency with a rating of 168.2 surpassing Mark Sanchez's rating of 164.6 from 2008.
- Injury Report: WR JuJu Smith left practice because he "had something in his eye that could not be flushed out". DB John Plattenburg was carted off the field but the training staff seems to think it is only a thigh bruise. DB Leon McQuay III (shoulder) is still non-contact but FB Soma Vainuku, WR Ajene Harris, DB Gerald Bowman and DL Leonard Williams all are very near full strength.
- Here is Sarkisian's full post-practice presser...
