/ STAFF WRITER
USC will be without two of its top linebackers for the rest of the season, and those losses couldn’t have come at a worse time.
Freshman “Mike” linebacker Cameron Smith, the Trojans’ leading tackler, and his backup, steady senior Lamar Dawson, suffered season-ending injuries at Colorado on Friday night. USC will be without them next week at Oregon, which has found its stride in November and upset Stanford on Saturday.
“Thank goodness we’re deep at the position,” USC interim coach Clay Helton said Saturday. “We feel confident … that we can hold up.