Words Lead to Trouble

The undercard to Saturday night’s game between USC and Oregon--the brawl during warmups--appeared to begin as Trojan safety Antuan Simmons ran onto the field and exchanged words with Duck cornerback Rashad Bauman. They bumped helmets and fists flew.

Within seconds, dozens of players had joined the fray. USC receiver Kareem Kelly was sent flying and cornerback Kevin Arbet ended up at the bottom of the pile.

As order was restored and the Trojans began stretching, Coach Pete Carroll went to Simmons with what looked like words of encouragement. He stopped by Kelly and lightly kicked the receiver on the shoe.

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As if to underscore that Saturday would be unusual, Trojan players gathered for their midday walk-through in an unusual place--a city park near the team hotel.

Dressed in sweats, they ran plays on a wide green lawn. The noon quiet was broken by the sound of quarterback Carson Palmer’s voice. Joggers and bicycle riders and people walking their dogs stopped to watch.

By early evening, the Trojans arrived at Autzen Stadium for a game that, because of recent events, had a different feel. A small United States flag was added to the backs of the USC helmets and the teams came onto the field early for the national anthem.

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Oregon cornerback A.K. Keyes suffered a back injury in the first quarter and left the field on a stretcher. The sophomore from Los Alamitos High was taken to a local hospital for observation.