Remember Jake Olson? He was the longtime USC fan who was born with a cancer of the retina and had to have both of his eyes surgically removed by the age of 12, but befriended Pete Carroll’s program and joined as a long snapper under former coach Steve Sarkisian, who’d always said he wanted Olson to play in a regulation game.
Saturday’s best moments were led by USC’s Jake Olson, blind long snapper
Your morning rundown of fun stuff from college football’s true opening Saturday is led by an amazing moment in Los Angeles.
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Well, now he’s played in a regulation game. Here he is, nailing a snap late in Saturday’s 49-31 win over WMU. The stadium roars and his teammates crowd him.
He talked about it after the game:
“Hearing my name being called over the PA system ... We always say we’re family. Coach [Clay] Helton drives that into this team. We all feel like we’re brotherhood. Just to be out there, knowing I had the support of my team. You saw the support and love I got. It’s just something so special. I think that, more than anything, touches me, just to see so many guys just absolutely embrace and love me on this team. That’s just something that, when I’m running out there, takes away the nerves.”
One of the last things the young USC fan ever saw was the Trojans’ 2009 win at Notre Dame. Before the surgery that would remove his vision forever, he requested to make that South Bend trip, then to spend his last day with eyesight at USC practice.
College football’s other best stuff from Saturday
(If you just want scores, here are the scores that mattered.)
- Maryland beat Texas, finally delivering on promise.
- Here was the moment when Oklahoma’s stadium found out about Texas losing to Maryland.
- Cam Newton’s little brother led the biggest upset in point-spread history.
- WYOMING’S PUNTER WHIFFED.
- LSU was winning a blowout, so ESPN’s entire crew just started impersonating Ed Orgeron, including Allison Williams on the sideline, right behind Coach O.
- My favorite moment from Bama body-slamming FSU was 1,000-yard RB Damien Harris blocking a punt, as if that’s a thing 1,000-yard RBs do.
- Bama’s Raekwon Davis recorded a sack six days after being shot.
- MIAMI’S GOT A TURNOVER GOLD CHAIN
- FCS (yes, still FCS for now) Liberty beat Baylor, and the whole thing’s summed up by this Yakety Sax’d video.
- Clemson’s band beat Ohio State’s band at its own game.
- That kicker Jim Harbaugh used a slumber party to recruit? He hit two 50-yarders against Florida.
- Troy-Boise State gave us a play that really takes like four sentences to sum up.
- Not only is UAB back, UAB racked up a Piesman play.
- South Carolina beat NC State in a nice and dumb game.
- MTSU set off fireworks (which just kept going and going) after an incomplete pass.
- I’m still disgusted by BYU’s fake punts.
- Remember all that rage about ESPN moving Robert Lee to a different game? He got a way better game out of the deal.
- BIG 12 STADIUM FOXES ARE BACK.
- PlayStation has a new ad that’s either really mean or teasing a new college football video game. No in between.
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