USC vs. Colorado: Who Were the Studs and Duds

USC vs. Colorado: Who Were the Studs and Duds by Alicia de Artola

USC football suffered a pair of massive injury blows Saturday as Clay Helton announced that both Cameron Smith and Lamar Dawson have been lost for the season.

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#USC MLBs Cameron Smith (knee) and Lamar Dawson (shoulder) out for the season. — Michael Lev (@MichaelJLev) November 15, 2015

Smith tore his ACL against the Buffaloes while Dawson will finish his injury-plagued USC career on the sidelines due to a shoulder problem.

The freshman middle linebacker was USC’s leading tackler through ten games this season. His three interceptions against Utah helped the Trojans upset the nation’s No. 3 team and set him as USC’s leading interceptor this season as well.

Dawson had been having a solid senior year as Smith’s back up after returning from a knee injury of his own which kept him out for most of the 2013 season and all of 2014. He was eight among Trojans with 31 tackles.

Without the two middle linebackers, USC’s defense will have to turn towards Michael Hutchings, who has served as the third string option and has logged just five tackles all year. Strongside linebacker back up Uchenna Nwosu and rush end Jabari Ruffin could also be called upon to fill in the gap.

They could also rely upon starting weakside linebacker Anthony Sarao and his back up Osa Masina to take on a greater role on the inside of the defense.

Unforutnately USC’s injury trouble did not end there against Colorado. Offensive lineman Viane Talamaivao also suffered a knee injury and is questionable for the rest of the season. That will likely result in Nico Falah or Chris Brown entering the starting line up against Oregon.