When the Trojans return home tomorrow to play their first game of the year at the Coliseum they will be playing for redemption. And while a win will not vault them into any polls, or onto the front pages of ESPN, it will do heaps of good for Clay Helton, Max Browne and the entire program. A loss on the other hand, would seriously derail things and the pitchforks from the Trojan faithful will come out sharpened and ready. As we prepare for The Aggies let’s take a look at a few key points to secure the win.
– Lean on your backups: Unfortunately we learned yesterday that Toa Lobendahn will be out for the season with ACL/MCL tears. Also out is Noah Jefferson on the defensive side with a shoulder injury. Khalil Rodgers is 50/50 to get any playing time. Chad Wheeler is progressing and should see reps. Nico Falah will start at center and needs to step up to the task. The offensive line will be essential to give Max some time to find his receivers and get in rhythm.
– Establish the run: Coach Helton has stressed the importance of the run game and I fully support him on that point. Getting the ground game moving early will free up good passing lanes and ultimately increase our third down conversion percentage. Again, the success of this ties back to the offensive line sticking to their assignments. I have faith Zach Banner will lead that group well on Saturday.
– Do not look ahead: Fortunately after a blistering loss, we should not be tempted to look over Utah State to Stanford next week, but it can happen. In the last meeting of these teams at the Coliseum, we beat Utah St. by just 3 points when we were led by Cody Kessler so they are not to be slept on.
I will have the pleasure of attending the game this week and it is an early one with an 11am kickoff time. Fans east of California will likely have no chance of seeing the game given that it’s broadcast on the lovely Pac-12 Network. So let’s hope the Trojans come out Saturday and quietly take care of business. While there won’t be a ton of cameras at the game, there will be a lot of pens ready to write us out of the script if we let this get away from us.
FIGHT ON
The Late Game 
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