Byrd steps up in big way after Height is injured

Stanford made its last-gasp attempt at a comeback on Saturday evening, facing fourth-and-12 with under a minute remaining.

Fittingly, it was USC defensive end Solomon Byrd who put the finishing touches on the Trojans' 4128 win, barreling into the backfield for a sack to turn the ball over on downs.

Byrd did not enter Saturday as a member of the first-team defense. But when starting rush edge Romello Height went down with an injury, it was Byrd who moved from defensive end to the rush position and got the majority of the snaps there rather than sophomore Korey Foreman.

Byrd, who transferred to USC from Wyoming over the summer, rewarded the coaching staff's trust with four tackles, two sacks and a pass breakup, swatting the ball away at the line of scrimmage.

“He stepped up bigtime,” captain Tuli Tuipulotu said. “He just stepped into the rush position because he was us at the ends for a little bit. He did a great job.”

Injury report

Height had been dealing with a shoulder injury for much of fall camp, spending a week in a yellow non-contact jersey in practice. After disappearing into the medical tent in the first quarter, the Auburn transfer reemerged in a sling with a wrap around his right shoulder.

He was not the only Trojan to leave the game with an injury. Left tackle Courtland Ford limped off the field in the fourth quarter and had trainers examining his right leg on the sidelines. He left the field following the game on a medical cart.

He was replaced in the game by Bobby Haskins, the Virginia transfer who has split time with Ford as the two battle for the fulltime left tackle job.