Make that a thin cardinal line protecting USC’s backfield, which also happens to be hamstrung by injuries. While every team looses players during the season (Cal lost to Oregon State without their starting QB, Stanford beat USC without their’s), can anybody in the nation match up with the Trojan’s carnage?

From USC football’s weekly press release:

Already this season, 11 starters or projected starters have missed
games with injuries:  S-CB Josh Pinkard (6 games), C Matt Spanos (3
games), TB C.J. Gable (3 games), LB Brian Cushing (3 games), CB
Shareece Wright (2 games), OG Chilo Rachal (2 games), C Kristofer
O’Dowd (2 games), QB John David Booty (1 game), CB Cary Harris (1
game), WR Patrick Turner (1 game) and TB Chauncey Washington (1 game).

Also, a number of key backups have missed games due to injuries: CB Kevin Thomas (6 games), OG-C Nick Howell (6 games), TB Broderick Green (6 games), TE Jimmy Miller (5 games), LB Chris Galippo (3 games), TB Stafon Johnson (2 games), WR Travon Patterson (2
games), OT Butch Lewis (2 games), OT Charles Brown (1 game), QB Mark
Sanchez (1 game), S Will Harris (1 game) and CB Vincent Joseph (1
game).  Pinkard, Gable, Thomas, Howell, Green, Galippo, Patterson have
season-ending injuries.

The impact of these injuries has been enormous. The team could be one fractured finger or a healed foot away from a 6-0 record.

Looking ahead to Notre Dame, here’s more from the Sports Information Department:

POSSIBLE:  TB Stafon Johnson (foot), OT Sam Baker (hamstring), S Kevin
Ellison (nose), OT Charles Brown (ankle), LB Rey Maualuga (hip), OG
Zack Heberer (shoulder), QB John David Booty (finger), LB Brian Cushing
(ankle), OG Chilo Rachal (knee), CB Shareece Wright (hamstring), C
Kristofer O’Dowd (kneecap), TE Jimmy Miller (back).

OUT:  TB C.J. Gable (abdomen), WR Travon Patterson (foot), LB Chris
Galippo (back), S-CB Josh Pinkard (knee), OG-C Nick Howell (hernia), TB
Broderick Green (foot), CB Kevin Thomas (shoulder), OT Martin Coleman
(shoulder), DE Trey Henderson, WR Damian Williams (shoulder).

That ignores all the players who are just dinged up (see Jeff Byers, pictured above) and leaves out two recently announced injuries to Kyle Moore and Terrell Thomas (hamstring).

Here’s what John David Booty’s hand looked like after practice today. He didn’t throw at all, but he’s supposed to try tomorrow with a glove.