Stafon Johnson Emergency Surgery Leaves USC Trojans Reeling

On a day when college football takes a backseat to the trials and tribulations of life itself, the USC Trojans must find a way to focus on the mundane aspects of gridiron prowess.

While Stafon Johnson, their star senior running back who already has five touchdowns, lays in a hospital room recovering from emergency throat surgery after a serious weight room accident, the Trojans prepare to meet an angry Cal Bear team in Berkeley Saturday.

Though Trojan hearts will remain in southern California with their fallen teammate, their bodies will face a Cal team that was embarrassed by Oregon 42-3.

As a result, the Bears, ranked number six a week ago, now find they have fallen to No. 24 in the latest AP rankings.

For the Cal Bears, they must be wondering about the fairness of it all. Or perhaps a lack of it.

When the Trojans lost to an unranked Washington Huskies two weeks ago, they fell from third in the AP rankings to 12.

Meanwhile, the Bears, though admitedly losing by a significantly higher margin, fell 18 places while losing to a much better Oregon team.

This won't go over well with an already angry Cal team who played far, far below their capabilities.

In every way possible, the Bears threw in a clunker and they will be eager to show the college football world that the Oregon game was just an aberration.

And they are good enough to do it too.

Meanwhile, the Trojans, coming off a lackluster 27-6 win over the out manned Washington State Cougars, will arrive in Berkeley with a heavy heart.

Stafon Johnson is a team leader who went from a malcontent to a go-to running back for Pete Carroll and the Trojans.

At a time like this, with a team already in transition due to offensive woes, it is difficult to say what effect Johnson's accident will have.

If anyone can get the team to focus, it is Pete Carroll.

But Carroll and his coaching staff, particularly on the offensive side of the ball, already have their hands full just trying to get the Trojans to play fundamentally sound football.

Last Saturday the Trojans committed 13 penalties and this was to be a focus for the Trojans, not worrying about whether or not a loved teammate can pull through with his life on the line.

Inconsistent offensive line play and getting Matt Barkley and his receivers on the same page was supposed to capture the attention of the Trojans.

Instead they are saying prayers for a young man who has come a long way since he constantly resided in Pete Carroll's doghouse for not dedicating himself to the game.

Now Stafon Johnson's dedication, this time in the weight room, has landed him in a hospital emergency operation room and a nation of Trojan fans can only pray and hope for the best.

For the Trojans, whose collective heart beats with their fallen running back in a hospital room in southern California, the best dedication they can give to Stafon Johnson is to beat an angry Cal Bear team.

It won't be easy but all they need to do is remember why Stafon Johnson was in that weight room in the first place.

Stafon would want it that way.