ESPN has reported today that USC’s top offensive lineman, Kristofer O’Dowd, has dislocated his right kneecap during a scrimmage at the Coliseum.
The injury is almost identical to an injury O’Dowd suffered his freshman year, and if the conditions turn out to be the same O’Dowd will be guaranteed to miss the OSU matchup on the 12th. This is the second straight year that a key component to USC’s offense has dislocated a kneecap before the season, with former USC quarterback Mark Sanchez dislocating his left kneecap before the start of the 2008 season.
Just like any good sports fan I absolutely hate to see things like this happen. No sane person really enjoys to see another human being injure themselves and miss out on enjoying the game they love. However, I hate it even more when it happens to a team that OSU is supposed to play. When you play the best, you like to play them when they’re at their best. USC missing a key piece to their spectacular offensive line, especially their Center and leader of their line, is a huge loss. I imagine USC will be more than capable of putting in an acceptable replacement given 3 weeks and a ball game against San Jose State on September 3rd, but the quantity of experience and the leadership qualities he brings to the table will be missed.
What really gets me, though, is that I really hate to give the other team an easy excuse in case the Bucks actually do manage to beat them.
“You’d have never beaten us if xyz hadn’t happened!”
Yea…sure…great. Prove it on the field next time.
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The preceding was a piece by one of our “occasional guest bloggers”. Please welcome Eric to The BBC family;
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