How David Slew Goliath, or GO STANFORD!

STANFORD! STANFORD! STANFORD! STANFORD!

The pundits gave us a 0.0457 chance to beat the number one ranked USC, who hasn’t lost at home since the September 2001 (also STANFORD!!!!) and whose coach had only lost 12 total games at USC. Make that un-Lucky 13 now.

Stanford won 1 (one) game last year. Our quarterback this year is out with a brain virus.

And WE JUST TOOK DOWN THE #1 team in College football lead by a sophomore quarterback in his debut start!

“Trojans have little to gain against the Cardinal, except rest for some injured players.“

USC coaches and players refuse to acknowledge it.

The record of the opponent, the gargantuan point spread and upcoming games against other struggling teams draw nary a reaction from the second-ranked Trojans.

But today’s Pacific 10 Conference game against Stanford is the start of a three-game stretch that should allow USC to regain its form, nurse some key players back to health and audition others for what figures to be a difficult five-game finish.

The unbeaten Trojans are coming off a sloppy three-point victory over Washington and will be without two of their three leading rushers, two starting offensive linemen and possibly a starting cornerback today at the Coliseum.

And yet they are a near-six-touchdown favorite over Stanford.”

Yeah, that’s right, little to gain, but EVERYTHING to lose.

If this were another opponent and another venue, there might be trepidation. USC is hurting physically and not playing up to its customary high standards (see last week’s victory at Washington).

But with Stanford visiting the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum today, oddsmakers see no reason for the No. 2 Trojans to worry.

USC by 40, they say.

Of course, the Trojans would be a prohibitive favorite against Stanford under any circumstances. But fact is, the Cardinal (1-3, 0-3 Pacific-10) is more beaten down than USC (4-0, 2-0).

Redshirt sophomore Tavita Pritchard – not fifth-year senior T.C. Ostrander – will start at quarterback. Ostrander had a seizure Sunday and will be re-evaluated next week. Pritchard has not started since high school.

If Pritchard goes down or is ineffective, next in line would be redshirt freshman Alex Loukas, who has never played a college game.

All told, Stanford will be without six players who were expected to make significant contributions, including left tackle Allen Smith (knee) and running back Toby Gerhart (knee).

Still, Cardinal players put on a happy face as they walked off the practice field Thursday. Yes, their team is one of the biggest underdogs for a Pac-10 game in the history of the conference. But that hasn’t crushed their spirits.

Tavita Pritchard showed the kind of skill and brains that Stanford quarterbacks are famous for. Maybe Stanford will never be able to recruit the best defensive line, and perhaps we’ll never outweigh any other team in the country save those east coast Ivy teams…. but when it comes to the positions that require the brains and the brawn, Stanford has been producing some of the best. Tavita Pritchard should be proud and I wouldn’t be surprised if John Elway isn’t picking up the phone right now to give that young man a call.

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