Rose Bowl: Stanford players cannot forget defeat by USC

USC’s 20-17 victory over Stanford on Nov. 16 will resonate with Trojans players and fans for years to come.

Stanford players also have vivid memories of the game, which ended with Trojans fans storming the field at the Coliseum.

“People were running by saying some less-than-appropriate things,” Stanford fullback Ryan Hewitt said Friday. “But it’s what you expect. It’s part of the game.”

USC dealt Stanford its second loss of the season. The Cardinal rebounded to win the Pac-12 Conference title and earn a spot in the 100th Rose Bowl game against Michigan State.

Hewitt, a fifth-year senior, said the renewed rivalry with the Trojans began in 2007 after the 41-point underdog Cardinal upset the Trojans at the Coliseum.

Interim coach Ed Orgeron led the Trojans to their first victory over Stanford since 2008.

“I think they realized we were kind of getting the upper hand as of late and, of course, they’re going to come at us and give us their all every game,” Hewitt said. “It’s fun. They’re smack-talking guys but they’re good football players and they play the game the way it’s supposed to be played.”

Not that Cardinal players enjoyed the ending of their 20-17 defeat.

“They were a very good team toward the end of the year,” guard David Yankey said of the Trojans. “Coach [Ed] Orgeron did a great job with them, really bringing the team back together when the season could have easily just fallen apart the way it was going and with coach [Lane] Kiffin getting fired midseason.”

Receiver Ty Montgomery recalled the scene on the field after the game.

“It was very hard to handle,” he said. “It was hard to accept. But just like anything, any time a curve ball is thrown at you in life, you’ve got to be able to sit on it and wait on it and handle it the best way you can.”

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