Will Ferrell saves the day at USC practice

I'm glad I was prepared.

While watching USC football practice on Thursday, the Times' Gary Klein gave me a heads-up. As he notes in today's paper, a prank involving a stuntman falling from a platform and another running across the field on fire happened to provide what Trojans Coach Pete Carroll called “just a little Halloween spirit” during practice.

If Gary hadn’t told me beforehand, I may have reacted with the same terrified look as some other onlookers. They gasped when the stuntman fell from a mechanical lift outside a fence surrounding Howard Jones Field.

The mood quickly changed, though, once actor Will Ferrell burst through the gate carrying the man and people realized he landed on a cushion out of view of the practice field. Ferrell, a USC alum, is no stranger to oddball antics, including taking part in Carroll’s various efforts to lighten the team mood. Such as this tribute to USC strength coach “Chuck Berry.”

See more Will Ferrell videos at Funny or Die

-- Mark Medina