 "Photo: Michael Sugarman | Daily Trojan")
After losing to Oregon State last season, cornerback Terrell Thomas knew the defense had to be told to step it up before USC played Stanford.
He stood up during the team's meeting the night before the game and took charge.
"I just felt that the team needed to be addressed as a defense," Thomas said. "We needed to play better. I thought we had to start dominating on defense and start playing as athletes and what we're capable of, and I think we did."
The Trojans went on to shut out the Cardinal, 42-0, and Thomas added an interception and returned a blocked field goal for a touchdown.
But this season, despite a less-than-impressive win against Washington last week, Thomas said no speech is necessary before the No. 2 Trojans (4-0, 2-0 Pac-10) host Stanford (1-3, 0-3) at 4 p.m. Saturday at the Coliseum.
"Last week, we had a really good game on both sides of the ball, but we had the misfortune of turnovers and penalties. We just have to clean that stuff up," Thomas said.
The Trojans are last in the conference in penalty yardage per game and second to last in turnover ratio.
But the Trojans know it's something that's fixable.
"I'm not worried about it at all," USC coach Pete Carroll said. "I just want to get us back to playing so we feel good about our work, and get the feeling that we know we can find our continuity and find our comfort zones again and fit it back together."
The Trojans will have to do that without two starters on the offensive line - center Kris O'Dowd and guard Chilo Rachal -
and running back C.J.
Gable, who is undergoing season-ending surgery on his injured groin.
Running back Stafon Johnson is also likely to miss the game, which means Chauncey Washington will start and split carries among a bevy of running backs, including Joe McKnight, Allen Bradford, Hershel Dennis and Desmond Reed.
"We're trying to find a hot hand," offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian said. "That's what we're trying to figure out and assess as the game's going on."
But just like last season against Stanford, the game will be important to the team's confidence, Sarkisian said.
"I think it's a big confidence game for everybody, really," Sarkisian said. "I think going into the [Washington] game we felt really good coming off the Washington State game. For whatever reason, whether it was weather, injuries or penalties, I think a lot of our guys didn't play the way they're capable of playing."
Despite the penalties and injuries, the Trojans are second in the conference in both scoring offense and scoring defense, averaging 40.2 points per game, while allowing 19.8 points per game.
The USC defense will face Stanford's backup quarterback, Tavita Pritchard, after starter T.C. Ostrander suffered a seizure Sunday.
Pritchard, a 6-foot-4 sophomore, has completed one pass in three career attempts.
"He is very athletic, good arm, throws the ball accurately," Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh said. "I'm excited for his opportunity to be able to play."
The Trojans had very little game tape on Pritchard, making it difficult to plan for him.
"You don't know what to expect," Thomas said. "You still watch the film because [Stanford's] tendencies won't change too much, but at the same time it's a different quarterback in there."
But the Cardinal does have one of the conference's best all-purpose running backs in Anthony Kimble. Kimble is second in the conference in all-purpose yards, averaging 180 per game.
The Trojans defense, though, leads the conference in total yards allowed and has impressed Carroll.
"They play really hard and hit the heck out of everybody," Carroll said. "They are determined to leave a statement that they ain't backing down for nothing. They're going to make every hit they can make. They're going to fly to the football."
But Carroll's not the only one impressed with the Trojans this season.
"USC is a tremendous football team," Harbaugh said. "I admire the way they play ... their athletes and the way they are coached. This is one of college football's true dynasty teams and I'm very impressed."
The Cardinal is playing their first road game of the season, while the Trojans return home to the Coliseum for two straight games.
USC has won the last 35 straight games at home, but the last team to beat the Trojans in the Coliseum was Stanford.
"I'm looking forward to just being here," Carroll said. "A couple weeks we get to be at home, so we're going to dig in and have some fun playing football right here in front of our hometown fans and make the most of it."
