Joe McKnight News

So, Matt Barkley threw a pass. A 48 yard pass. Downfield. After kneeling the ball.

Saturday, November 28, 2009 at 10:54 p.m. / AP University of Southern California quarterback Matt Barkley, right, is tackled by UCLA linebacker Reggie Carter as he runs the ball during the first half of their NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov.

Malcolm Smith returned one of Southern California's three interceptions 62 yards for an early touchdown, and the 24th-ranked Trojans regained their defensive pride while maintaining their city dominance with a 28-7 victory over UCLA on Saturday night.

A final decision is not required until mid-January, when the NFL draft deadline looms, but USC tailback Joe McKnight said Thursday that he was leaning toward returning for his senior season.

It's quieter this year, with fewer questions about their infamous split, but USC Coach Pete Carroll is looking forward to matching wits again with Norm Chow when the Trojans play UCLA on Saturday at the Coliseum.

He has been around this program longer than most, Jeff Byers officially becoming a USC Trojan in the summer of 2004, when Matt Barkley was 13 years old.

Bye weeks present USC with an opportunity to get healthy, and this one is coming at just the right time.

The Trojans returned to the field Tuesday for the first time since their 55-21 loss to Stanford on Saturday.

Through the first half of the season, USC's defensive line was regarded as one of college football's best, a young and talented group that stuffed the run and led the nation in sacks.

Bizarro World has come to college football. When the lights go out on this weekend's action, Oklahoma, Michigan, and Notre Dame will not be ranked.

Any confusion USC fans had regarding their beloved Trojans has just been cleared up in resounding fashion today at the coliseum.

In an unfamiliar sight for a USC home game, Trojans players hang their heads in the fourth quarter Saturday.

USC tailback Joe McKnight agreed the Trojans might lack an identity when asked following a 55-21 drubbing by Stanford on Saturday at the Coliseum.

USC, with an outside chance of winning an eighth consecutive Pacific 10 Conference title, plays the first of three consecutive home games to end the regular season.

By GREG BEACHAM AP Sports Writer Updated: November 13, 2009, 5:54 PM / A mere two years after Stanford's last trip to the Coliseum ended with arguably the biggest college football upset of the decade, coaches Jim Harbaugh and Pete Carroll both clearly want to forget it.

Receiver Damian Williams will miss No. 11 Southern California's game against 25th-ranked Stanford with a sprained right ankle.

Name: Webpage: 17+3 = November 8th About two weeks ago, we were all crying out over Vontaze Burfict's spate of personal foul penalties.

With 15 carries for 78 yards and two catches for three yards, this is how Joe McKnight's stats read after last weeks win over Arizona State.

Pete Carroll is navigating uncharted territory. After his team suffered the worst loss in the last 12 years of the program, the USC coach is starting from scratch.

After suffering their worst loss since 1997, the No. 12 Trojans took their first step toward turning the page Monday by trying to put the pieces back together on the practice field.