- Junior QB Cody Kessler, the Pac-12 Player of the Week, sat out practice due to a "procedure" on his toe, which was bothering him Saturday. Head coach Steve Sarkisian expects his quarterback to practice tomorrow.
- All-American DE Leonard Williams "rolled his ankle" this morning and limped off Howard Jones Field. Again, Sarkisian is not overly concerned. OL Damien Mama suffered a "scare" with his knee at the end of practice, but he should be fine as well per the coach.
- RB Tre Madden remains out due to turf toe. "He is not 100% healthy yet, but he is much improved," said Sarkisian who spoke with the tailback today at practice.Â
- LB Lamar Dawson returned to practice today.
- USC and Stanford have played epic games in each of the last four years decided on the final play. The Cardinal had the Trojans number until last year's Coliseum classic. "They got us for awhile and we ended up getting them so now it's going to be fun this year," said Kessler. "It will be a tough game going there. I haven't played a game there before so I'm excited to go up there and it will be fun game, really competitive."
- The game is expected to be decided in the trenches between two of the most physical teams in the conference. "They're a good defensive front," said center Max Tuerk. "We're going to have to work extremely hard this week to be physical."
- While Fresno State was a good opening challenge for USC's talented freshmen, Stanford will be at another level in terms of physicality and intensity. "I'm just hoping that I can contribute even more to the team," said freshman WR JuJu Smith. "So this week I'm just staying focused, working hard every day, and getting ready for Saturday. I still have things to improve."
- Kessler was blown away by the performance of the debutants. "It was really cool to see not only those guys get in and actually play but also make an impact," he said. "You know some of those guys JuJu, Adoree [Jackson], some of the O-Lineman, they made a significant impact in the game and they really helped us win. It was really cool to see coming from some guys that it was their first college game."
- Washington and Stanford played some memorable games as well during Sarkisian's tenure in Seattle, including last year's clash, which involved heated post-game press conferences for both coaches. "David and I are both highly competitive people," said Sarkisian. "There may be a disagreement or two Saturday as well, but that's part of the business that we are in. That doesn't affect our personal lives when we move out of that competitive forum."
- USC defeated Stanford on an Andre Heidari game-winning kick last year, but the senior looked shaky Saturday missing a field goal and hooking a kickoff out of bounds. Sarkisian has confidence in his kicker, who had a strong Fall Camp, but he wants to see Heidari take on "a next play mentality," so that one mistake does not snowball into several.
- Here is Sarkisian's post-practice presser:
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Stanford Tuesday: Notes
September 01, 2014 | USC Ripsit Blog
Stanford Tuesday: Notes
USC had a couple injury scares at practice today...
Wednesday, September 16
Tuesday, September 15
Tuesday, September 15
Tuesday, September 15
