Kristofer O'Dowd News

This season, USC football coach Pete Carroll said, has just felt "weird." So why should Senior Day have been an exception? The Trojans, for so long the beasts of the Pac-10, tumbled even further down the bowl pecking order Saturday, in a 21-17 loss to Arizona decided by Juron Criner's 36-yard touchdown reception with 3:14 left in the fourth ...

After finishing the regular season on a down note, USC players sounded Monday as if they'd accepted their status as an Emerald Bowl participant.

Even though he has praised him profusely, USC coach Pete Carroll conceded Tuesday that he never expected freshman Matt Barkley to play at the same level as previous Trojans quarterbacks under his watch.

Passing through USC quarterback Matt Barkley's last pass was a controversial one, but it went 48 yards for a touchdown against UCLA so the freshman enters today with some confidence after struggling for much of the second half of the season.

When Taylor Mays elected to stay at Southern California for his final season, the All-American safety never thought he'd be hoping his senior day ended with a berth in the Holiday Bowl.

Posted Today at 12:36 am in Featured , Football , Sports There's just one regular season game left on the schedule for the Trojans, but coach Pete Carroll is still switching around his lineup.

Matt Barkley said it was not acceptable. Coach Pete Carroll , somewhat surprisingly, agreed.

Kristofer O'Dowd is used to being in the middle of the action, so you can imagine how difficult the past several weeks have been for USC's junior center, who has been stuck watching from the sideline.

Quick hitters from USC's Wednesday practice: ** Receiver Damian Williams continued to impress in his return from a sprained ankle.

Jeff Byers could sense a difference. In the most physical of football drills - the full-contact running drill known as the "nine-on-seven" - the USC defense was bringing it.

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

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Arizona State and USC will be knocking heads tonight at Sun Devil Stadium, both looking to get back into the win column.

Tuesday's USC practice provided three rare sights : C.J. Gable ran with the first-team offense.

Just ask a Vegas bookie about USC's home loss to Stanford in 2007. Or about the likelihood of Notre Dame's fourth quarter near-comeback against the Trojans three weeks ago.

The one thing Trojan fans can take consolation in is that the best team won. Nothing cheap, no luck involved, simply the best team won.

It's a travel day for Washington State. The Cougars will arrive in the Bay Area this afternoon, have a short practice at Memorial Stadium and then play the Cal Bears tomorrow.

There was some interesting news from the coaching staff yesterday... Jeff Byers will start at center over Kristofer O'Dowd . This might be a shock to some but the running game doesn't seem to be where many of us think it should be.

By the time USC center Kristofer O'Dowd arrived at training camp in August, he already had been selected to several preseason All-American teams.

Golden boys Former Southland high school stars Matt Barkley and Jimmy Clausen face off in a game that could go a long way in determining each of their legacies.