USC’s O’Hara Sidelined for Season : Marinovich Will Start at Quarterback Against Illinois

USC quarterback Pat O’Hara’s season officially ended Saturday in an operating room at Pasadena’s Huntington Memorial Hospital when doctors found extensive damage in his right knee.

Inadvertently hit by onrushing lineman J.P. Sullivan during a scrimmage Friday at UC Irvine, O’Hara not only wound up with two torn ligaments in the knee, but a broken shin as well.

Dr. Richard Diehl, who performed the surgery, was optimistic that O’Hara, a junior, will be able to play next season.

After spending three years as understudy to Rodney Peete, O’Hara appeared to have won his battle with freshman Todd Marinovich for the No. 1 job.

Marinovich will start the Sept. 4 season opener at the Coliseum against Illinois.

“I was sick to my stomach watching them take him off the field,” Marinovich said. “I’m going to pray for him every night.

“I can’t change what happened. All I can do is seize the opportunity.”

Seven days earlier, starting nose guard Don Gibson suffered a knee injury that will sideline him for five to seven weeks.

“We’ve been really spoiled the last couple of years as far as injuries,” defensive lineman Tim Ryan said. “We’ve now lost two key guys in fall camp. We’re not used to that.

“But there was a weird atmosphere at Friday’s scrimmage, even before the injury. Everybody seemed lethargic. I wasn’t surprised when it happened. There has been weird karma going around. It didn’t feel good.

“But when it happened, people didn’t think, ‘There goes our quarterback.’ We thought about Pat, a guy who had worked so hard. It just hurts my heart.”

Said running back Aaron Emanuel: “It’s almost like we’re in the Twilight Zone. When I saw him (O’Hara) go down, everything felt real cold.

“When you see a guy lying there on the ground screaming, you’re thinking, Lord, let it be just a bruise. When you hear how bad it is, it just tears you up. Here’s a guy who was so patient, waited his turn and never complained. It really doesn’t seem fair. I hurt for the guy.”