ESPN

After USC's 2012 spring game had concluded, at the end of his post-scrimmage meeting with reporters, coach Lane Kiffin was asked about his star receiver Robert Woods, who sat out the entire spring while recovering from an ankle injury originally suffered a year ago.

Would Woods, Kiffin was asked, be ready to go by fall? After all, he was supposed to be fully healed in February after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on the ankle in December. Missing the entire spring wasn't even an option until midway through it.

"That's what we believe," Kiffin said.

USC is hoping -- or believing -- a lot of its other players will be ready for the 2012 season, too. Truthfully, the Trojans need most of them back for depth reasons.

"We couldn't have something like what has happened this offseason to us in the fall," Kiffin said after the spring game. "We wouldn't be very good. So we need to make sure we keep our guys healthy."

Here's an overview of who's been out and when they are expected back, going position-by-position:

(Read full post)

LOS ANGELES -- Tre Madden is no longer the story of spring practice for the USC Trojans. The linebacker-turned-running-back who caught fire after moving to offense last month tore his left knee on Thursday and is out for the 2012 season.

Now, the story is who's going to replace him.

Redshirt freshman Buck Allen, one of the most unknown quantities on the Trojans' roster, started to make his case in Saturday's scrimmage at the Coliseum with the most extended time he has experienced this spring while bothered by a right hamstring pull. USC coach Lane Kiffin indicated he has been giving a lot of thought to other options to fill the big-back role Madden had quickly assumed behind starter Curtis McNeal.

And, it's a bit crazy, but Kiffin also called Madden "one of the most valuable guys on the team" because the Trojans "don't have anybody else like him."

It really was a fast rise and fall for Madden this spring. It still has been only 20 days since he found out from the coaching staff he was being moved to running back for experimental purposes and less than two weeks since Kiffin confirmed he was staying there long-term.

Madden has 226 pounds on his 6-foot frame. Allen, his natural replacement, is listed at 215 pounds -- so there's ground to make up there. And he also has been bothered by injuries on-and-off since his arrival on campus last August. But he's really the Trojans' best hope behind McNeal and speedy No. 2 back D.J. Morgan.

(Read full post)

Quarterback Jesse Scroggins missed Tuesday's practice to focus on academic issues, coach Lane Kiffin said, and could miss more of the Trojans' five remaining sessions to try to secure his eligibility for the fall semester.

"It's important how well he finishes," Kiffin said Tuesday.

Scroggins, a redshirt sophomore, is academically ineligible this spring but has the ability to pull himself up past the GPA minimum with certain marks. If he doesn't get them, he'll be ineligible in the fall -- when it really matters -- and unable to compete in the 2012 season.

During winter workouts, Scroggins guaranteed he would be able to get himself eligible by the end of the spring semester, which concludes May 9. But Kiffin indicated that the Lakewood native still has a lot of work to do in the final month.

"I will be eligible in the fall, there is no question about that," Scroggins told ESPNLosAngeles.com in February. "I will be practicing in the spring and I will still be here in the fall, no doubt about it."

Of course, Scroggins has been sidelined for much of the spring because of an injured hip and has been unable to participate in most parts of practices even when he was out on the field. Kiffin said that played a role in the Trojans' decision to keep him off the field altogether.

"He's coming to our meetings but because he can't do all the stuff in practice we're leaving him in academics to do some extra work," Kiffin said.

Because of his absence this spring, Scroggins has fallen behind redshirt freshmen Max Wittek and Cody Kessler in the competition to back up starting quarterback Matt Barkley this fall.

Jesse Scroggins is still technically in it, but the redshirt sophomore hasn't made serious noise in quite some time while bogged down by injuries and academic issues.

So, for now and the foreseeable future, the competition to back up Matt Barkley this fall is a two-horse race between Cody Kessler and Max Wittek, the two redshirt freshmen who enrolled early last January.

And the race is really heating up.

It was more informal than normal because of a lack of healthy receivers, but Wittek put up probably his best scrimmage performance to date Saturday at the Coliseum, looking significantly more accurate and composed than he had in the past. Kessler, who beat Wittek for the No. 2 job last year on the strength of his composure, has always done well in the scrimmages. He didn't do anything particularly wrong over the weekend but was clearly matched -- even slightly outdone -- this time.

Of course, nothing's going to be decided now or next week or even next month. It's going to go down to the wire next fall as the coaches keep judging the two players on the key criteria they desire in a backup quarterback and a quarterback of the future.

"We always look for three things: decision-making, timing and accuracy," quarterbacks coach Clay Helton said last week when asked what Wittek and Kessler will be judged on this spring. "You can see them making better decisions than they made last spring, getting the ball out on time and being accurate, so we're very pleased with both of their progressions.

"Obviously they're not where Matt Barkley is yet, but that comes with time and experience."

(Read full post)

A few notes that won't make it into our other coverage from Thursday's session:

• USC coach Lane Kiffin spotlighted safety T.J. McDonald for his improved play in the second week of the spring and also said defensive tackle George Uko has practiced well aside from an effort slip-up during the Trojans' first scrimmage. We'll have more on Uko's situation on Friday.

• Cornerback Nickell Robey, receiver Marqise Lee and defensive back Tony Burnett will participate in Saturday's Trojan Invitational track meet instead of scrimmaging with the USC team at the Coliseum. Running back D.J. Morgan, the other football-track participant this spring, will scrimmage instead of sprint. We'll have more on the foursome and their decisions on Friday.

• Defensive back Josh Shaw, a Florida transfer, said he will not practice for the rest of spring with a rib injury he suffered with the Gators. He participated in winter workouts for the Trojans earlier this year but had the situation flare up over the last few weeks, he said. Shaw also still awaits ruling from the NCAA on whether or not he'll be able to play this season with a hardship waiver.

• Injury report: Outside of the four Trojans sidelined with hamstring injuries, tight end Xavier Grimble (toe) and center Khaled Holmes (calf) also sat out of practice. Linebacker Marquis Simmons (shoulder) was very limited and quarterback Jesse Scroggins was limited with a hip injury. Safety Drew McAllister, who left Tuesday's practice early with a hand injury, practiced with a cast on his hand.

• Final notes: USC will scrimmage at 11 a.m. on Saturday in the Coliseum, the first time the Trojans will go back to the stadium as a team since November's 50-0 season-ending win over UCLA...Kiffin said quarterback Matt Barkley "won't play a lot" in the scrimmage, giving way primarily to backup candidates Cody Kessler and Max Wittek...Tight end Junior Pomee missed his second consecutive practice with a death in the family but could be back for Saturday's scrimmage.

USC’s out on spring break this week and not practicing, but each weekday through Friday, we’ll bring you one thing we learned from the first three days of practice last week and what it might mean for the future.

Our first item covered Marqise Lee‘s continued progress and our second the new-look Aundrey Walker. Third is this: Cody Kessler and Max Wittek are both going to get a lot of time this spring.

It makes sense, but it's still interesting.

Lane Kiffin said last week, after the Trojans' first two practices, that he was going to significantly limit Matt Barkley's snaps this spring in order to give him fewer chances to get hurt and the other quarterbacks more chances to get better.

What is that going to mean for this spring? We're going to get a better look at both backups than last spring or fall. (Jesse Scroggins should see some snaps too, but he seems to be falling further and further down the Dillon Baxter-style spiral.) And we should have a pretty good idea of who to expect to win the job after Barkley departs next season.

Right now, it's still fairly even, as it has been since both players arrived on campus last January. Kessler continues to command the huddle like a player at least a year or two more experienced than him, and Wittek continues to show flashes of the make-every-throw ability coaches at all levels find inherently attractive.

Here's what is even more interesting about this situation going forward: How is Kiffin going to handle the process of naming the starter? He could name one at the end of next spring, like Pete Carroll did with Aaron Corp in 2009, allowing the choice to get comfortable with the new position. Or he could wait until midway through fall camp and keep the competition up all summer, which could push each player more.

The second option would also have the side-effect of making both guys stay put for the 2013 season. If, say, Kiffin named Wittek the starter next April, it wouldn't be at all surprising if Kessler announced the next month he was transferring. But if Kiffin gets both players to stick around, that gives him more options all season long, and more options are always good.

Of course, this is all speculative, and we should be able to speculate better in about a month, after we see what both players do with their increased snaps.

Check back Thursday for item No. 4.

Notes from Saturday's practice and scrimmage that couldn't fit into our other coverage off the session:

• USC coach Lane Kiffin said the defense dominated the day on Saturday, and it was clear. The Trojans' offense scored just two touchdowns on 56 total plays in 11-on-11 scrimmaging, with those two scores coming from Marqise Lee and De'Von Flournoy.

• Backup quarterback Jesse Scroggins spent almost the entire practice doing rollovers on the field. Kiffin said he "missed something" earlier in the week. Scroggins has made almost no progress this spring and is already falling behind Max Wittek and Cody Kessler in the race to back up Matt Barkley.

• Injury report: Receiver Robert Woods (ankle) is still out, as is fellow pass-catcher George Farmer (hamstring) and several other players who are out for the entire spring. New injuries Saturday included hamstring pulls for running back Buck Allen and linebacker Dion Bailey, as well as a calf strain for center Khaled Holmes, which pushed Abe Markowitz into the first-string lineup.

• Big hits were provided by linebacker Tre Madden on running back D.J. Morgan, cornerback Isiah Wiley on running back Curtis McNeal and fullback Soma Vainuku on defensive end Morgan Breslin. Madden's was probably the biggest of the day -- or at least the loudest. Morgan held onto the ball; McNeal didn't.

• Defensive end Wes Horton had an impressive interception on a ball that appeared to be tipped by defensive tackle George Uko. Cornerback Nickell Robey earned MVP honors from Kiffin after forcing a fumble from Morgan on the final play of 11-on-11 scrimmaging.

• Final notes: 2012 signee Jabari Ruffin (Downey, Calif./Downey) was in attendance at practice along with a number of 2013 signees. ... There were more family members, recruits and media in attendance than had been at Howard Jones Field in at least two years. ... Greg Townsend Jr. continued to work at defensive tackle and looked more comfortable Saturday than the first two practices.

Notes from Thursday's practice not covered in our other posts off the session:

• Lane Kiffin named an MVP of the day for the second-straight practice, this time picking sophomore receiver Marqise Lee. On Tuesday, it was fellow sophomore George Farmer who earned the honors. Lee had a number of tough catches on the field Thursday, including one ridiculous leaping grab on a mediocre throw from Matt Barkley. Asked about it after practice, Kiffin said he didn't even remember which one he was being asked about because Lee made so many impressive catches. "He makes a couple of those a day," Kiffin said. "He's a unique player, a great player." Lee's effort in the series of 100-yard sprints that concluded practice also impressed Kiffin.

• Farmer hurt his hamstring midway through practice and did not participate in the latter half of the session. Kiffin said he did not know how the extend of the injury, but it didn't appear to be serious. Farmer has been bothered by nagging injuries often since his arrival on campus last August.

• Injury report: Aside from Farmer and the players who are out for the entire spring, tight ends Xavier Grimble (toe) and Junior Pomee (undisclosed) did not practice again Thursday, and quarterback Jesse Scroggins (hip) participated very little. Receiver Robert Woods (ankle) did even less, and defensive lineman Greg Townsend Jr. (back) missed the latter half of practice.

• Interestingly, Kiffin said Thursday that he would be giving limited reps to Barkley this spring for two specific reasons: injuries and snaps for the other signal-callers. The coach said Tuesday provided a reminder of "how close stuff can be" in terms of Barkley getting hurt. There were times Thursday when Barkley went in for one snap and then gave way to Cody Kessler or Max Wittek.

• Another interesting note: Barkley said Thursday he never actually submitted his pre-draft paperwork to the NFL seeking an evaluation, although he said in November last year that he had. "I never heard anything from the NFL," he said, laughing. "We were planning on it, but it never happened."

• USC will practice with pads Saturday morning for the first time this spring, which Kiffin said he was looking forward to based on the lethargy of Thursday's session. He said it would provide a boost for the players. After the 8:45 a.m. practice, the Trojans will take the next nine days off and resume practice on Tuesday, March 20.

Notes from Tuesday's spring-opening practice not covered in our other posts off the session:

• Players expected to miss the entire spring because of injuries include tight end Christian Thomas (hip), offensive tackle Chad Wheeler (shoulder), defensive tackle Christian Heyward (shoulder), defensive end DeVante Wilson (knee), cornerback Torin Harris (shoulder) and punter Kyle Negrete (shoulder). All six underwent offseason surgeries. Negrete appeared to punt normally in practice but was announced as out for the spring by Kiffin.

• Players who missed all or part of Tuesday's practice because of injury but are expected to return soon include quarterback Jesse Scroggins (hip), running back Curtis McNeal (shoulder), receiver Robert Woods (ankle), tight ends Xavier Grimble (toe) and Junior Pomee (undisclosed) and defensive back Josh Shaw (back). Only Woods' appears anywhere near serious, and Kiffin himself said he at one point thought the junior would suit up Tuesday. He's still recovering from the same ankle injury he suffered last April playing pick-up basketball.

• Shaw, a talented transfer from Florida, has not received a final determination on his hardship waiver from the NCAA. He is petitioning to be able to play this season instead of sitting out a year based on the argument he returned home to be with ailing family members.

• Kiffin said the MVP of the day was receiver-turned-running-back-turned-receiver George Farmer, who we'll have more on later. Fullback Soma Vainuku made the play of the day with a diving catch on a Matt Barkley throw. Barkley called the play "Havili-esque" afterward after former USC fullback Stanley Havili, who graduated in 2011.

• Forty-one USC students participated in walk-on tryouts during the tail end of practice -- more than twice as many as have come out in the spring or fall in recent years.

• Weight gains and losses: right tackle Aundrey Walker says he is down to 320 pounds after measuring in at 375 on his official visit last January. McNeal says he is up to 195 pounds -- 10 more than what he was at during last season. Left guard Marcus Martin is now listed at 325, a 15-pound drop from last season.

Cody Kessler remembers it well.

The week of the Notre Dame game last year, USC's No. 2 quarterback in 2011 was warming up on Howard Jones Field before an early-morning practice when Matt Barkley came up to him, unprompted, and asked him a question he never expected to hear.

"Hey, do you want me to stay or leave next year?" Barkley asked Kessler. "What's your take on it? I'm just trying to take everything in consideration, you know."

Kessler, then a redshirting freshman, was shocked and confused all at once. He knew Barkley had to be at least contemplating his impending decision to enter the NFL draft, but he didn't expect he'd be so outward about it.

"It caught me off guard," Kessler said this week. "I was like, 'What?' "

Before he could answer, Trojans coach Lane Kiffin ran up to them and announced practice was starting. Barkley never brought it up again and Kessler never said anything about it, even though the two were roommates that weekend in Michigan City and spent plenty of time together before the Notre Dame game.

Kessler said he didn't want to distract Barkley from preparation for the Fighting Irish.

Then, two months later, he listened intently as Barkley took the stage at Heritage Hall and announced he was staying for his senior season. Kessler swears he didn't know until the moment Barkley told everybody else that the quarterback was staying, saying he stayed neutral until the decision came.

"I prepared myself for both outcomes," he said. "I didn't want to commit to him leaving or staying and then be disappointed if he stayed. It was kind of a bittersweet situation. You want him to come back and learn from him and he's such a great guy to be around, but at the same time you want to have your chance.

Kessler's chance will probably come this season -- if he again wins the No. 2 quarterback spot. Whereas last year Kiffin did everything he could to save Kessler's redshirt season, this year the No. 2 quarterback should see quite a bit of time for the Trojans.

(Read full post)

With two weeks left until spring practice begins for USC on March 6, we thought it would be a great time to start our position-by-position previews leading up to the festivities.

For the next 10 weekdays we'll break down the depth chart for one position group each day, paying special attention to potential things that can change in the spring.

There is no position at USC more clear-cut than this, at least as far as starters go. As long as he stays healthy, Matt Barkley will take every single meaningful snap for the Trojans in the 2012 season.

What isn't clear-cut, though, is who his backup is. It was complicated last season, and could be similarly so this season.

Freshman Cody Kessler was listed at No. 2, but the goal was to allow him and fellow freshman Max Wittek to redshirt. So, until Jesse Scroggins' throwing thumb healed last October, walk-on senior John Manoogian was the practical backup. (He has not yet decided whether he will return for a fifth year in 2012.)

The underlying sentiment all season was that whomever finished the season behind Barkley would be the early favorite to replace him if Barkley left school early for the NFL draft. Of course, that didn't happen.

And USC coach Lane Kiffin also maintained all year that the depth chart would reset whenever Barkley did depart. It's likely he'll take the same stance again this year.

(Read full post)

There were rumors, but they weren't true, Jesse Scroggins says.

He never considered leaving USC. Matt Barkley's decision to stay another year didn't discourage him too much. And he's not so far ineligible academically that he can't get right in time for the fall.

He'll be a Trojan for the long-haul, he said Thursday, after a USC throwing session in which he did not participate.

"I will be eligible in the fall, there is no question about that," said Scroggins, one of three scholarship players backing up Barkley. "I will be practicing in the spring and I will still be here in the fall, no doubt about it."

As of now, Scroggins is academically ineligible to compete for USC by "like a point." He doesn't anticipate it being a big issue.

"To be a football player, you have to be a student first," he said. "That’s the main thing. And I put football before student.

"I admit to that, it's my fault. But I've definitely grown as a person and in the classroom. And I will never fall behind again."

Scroggins, a redshirt sophomore, fell behind the two signal-callers the year below him last season when he tore a ligament in his throwing thumb and missed significant time. Many believe those two, Cody Kessler and Max Wittek, will have the inside track to replace Barkley when he leaves for the NFL.

But Kiffin has said in the past all three guys would start with a clean slate whenever that happens, and Scroggins is sticking to that.

"It's gonna start from scratch, just like everybody got here at the same time," he said. "I feel like that's when somebody's gonna step up and take the reins."

As for accusations that he's not dedicated to becoming the next quarterback at USC, Scroggins laughed.

“Everybody thinks Jesse’s not serious,” he said. “But Jesse’s serious. He’s real serious. And he’s going to get that job.”

One of the benefits to getting USC coach Lane Kiffin in a room for 30 minutes where he's obligated to listen to a never-ending stream of questions and answer most of them is it equals an opportunity to get some long-standing questions answered. Here are notes going off of his most interesting answers:

Scholarship count

By now, it's well-known that the Trojans have to be at 75 total scholarships or fewer by the time fall camp comes around in August. Kiffin has said it over and over in recent months as a reminder that his USC team is still very much under sanctions.

But he refuses to reveal where his squad is at right now, after taking on 12 more signees this week and five as January enrollees. The only hint he would give to the team's roster status was telling a reporter who asked about it Wednesday that it's not quite as grim as he might imagine.

Luckily, we can do the math and get a tentative number for where the Trojans stand right now.

With the 17 new players added to the 60 scholarship returners, USC has 77 players on scholarship as of now, as far as we know. That number does not include players like Armond Armstead but does include the former walk-ons who were given scholarships, like linebacker Will Andrew.

We'll get into who else is no longer part of the program further down. But 77 is a manageable number.

Scroggins' future?

It might end up being 76 if Jesse Scroggins can't get his academics together. The redshirt sophomore quarterback from nearby Lakewood High has "fallen behind" in school, per Kiffin, and "has a lot of work to do" to become eligible for the 2012 season.

Of course, the Trojans also put on a huge late recruiting push for Colorado prep quarterback Cyler Miles, a similar signal-caller to Scroggins. So it's obvious that USC isn't exactly counting on Scroggins being a part of the team in the long term.

And, in front of him on the depth chart Cody Kessler and Max Wittek, who are both a year younger too. That could be an issue.

(Read full post)

With the Monday commitment of four-star offensive tackle Zach Banner (Lakewood, Wa./Lakes), USC now has nine Class of 2012 prospects committed to sign with the school out of 14 available spots.

NCAA sanctions limited the Trojans to 15 signees. They can actually only take 14 because safety Gerald Bowman (Philadelphia, Pa./Pierce College) signed as an early enrollee but didn't finish up his junior-college requirements in time to actually enroll early. So, with barely 36 hours remaining until the faxes will begin rolling in to Heritage Hall on Wednesday morning, let's take a look at which players could potentially fill those five spots.

The following 10 prospects are the candidates. They are listed in a rough order of the likelihood they will sign with the Trojans, from most likely to least. Then we'll go over some of the other things that could still affect the final formulation of the recruiting class, like current commits defecting to other schools and last-second, under-the-radar signees.

WR/RB Nelson Agholor (Tampa, Fla./Berkeley Prep)

Although not yet on campus, Agholor has quickly become Robert Woods' understudy at the receiver position, through social media and his official visit to the Trojans earlier this month.

He seems like a perfect fit as the next top-recruit receiver at USC after Woods and Lee. And he has gotten rave reviews on his character and attitude from all over the country. The only other school he could choose at this point is Florida, but he seems very likely to pick USC.

DE Leonard Williams (Daytona Beach, Fl./Mainland)

Williams is also down to just USC and Florida, according to a recent interview with Rivals.com. An interesting aspect of his recruitment is that he is originally from Los Angeles, which would ease the cross-country transition.

One question: Is a third (or fourth) defensive end really the Trojans' biggest need in this limited class? One could make a convincing argument that a running back would be a better use of the scholarship offer. But Williams is also big enough to make a potential transition to defensive tackle possible, and depth is needed there.

OT Andrus Peat (Tempe, Ariz./Corona Del Sol)

Peat is arguably the second most-important recruit remaining for USC, and he has the Trojans in his final three alongside Nebraska and Stanford. Now that he's gotten in at Stanford and with his brother heading into his second season at Nebraska, it's really an unknown how interested he is in USC.

But he has a ton of potential as a tall, room-to-grow player who could easily bookend USC's line with Banner for two or three seasons.

OT Kyle Murphy (San Clemente, Calif./San Clemente)

Let's put it this way: If the Trojans don't get either Peat, Murphy or Kyle Dodson (more later) to go along with Banner, something went wrong in the final week of the 2012 recruiting season.

He has USC and Stanford as his final two schools, and many recruiting analysts have speculated that Peat and Murphy will pick different schools, which would obviously help USC's cause. But there's also the worst-case scenario of Murphy picking Stanford and Peat joining his brother as a Cornhusker.

An item of note on the 6-7 Murphy: His high school teammate and good friend, Christian Tober, announced over the weekend he'd be coming to USC as a preferred walk-on in the fall.

(Read full post)

1. The conditions and a potential letdown. Weather.com projects it to be 47 degrees at kickoff Friday night in Boulder. But it won't be snowing, and the weather, in general, won't be much worse than it was two weeks ago in South Bend -- except for the altitude, which could make for some easily-tired players and big boots from USC kicker Andre Heidari. And Buffaloes fans can get loud, and they typically turn out in big numbers for big-time opponents. Colorado nearly sold out Folsom Field two weeks ago when Oregon visited and Friday's game is reportedly approaching sellout status as well. This game definitely shows signs of the prototypical letdown game, but it's Lane Kiffin's job to prevent that from happening.

2. Putting it behind them. That brings us to what happened last week, because that's the biggest reason why everybody's talking about this game as a letdown chance. USC came thisclose to beating the fourth-ranked team in the country. They were within a second (or correctly called timeout) of kicking a potential game-winning field goal and went into triple overtime against Andrew Luck and the Stanford Cardinal. But the Trojans didn't win the game, and Kiffin made a big fuss about some apparent officiating gaffes in the following days, forcing the conversation away from Colorado and onto Stanford. We'll see whether that was the right decision for his team on the field against the Buffaloes.

3. Richardson-Stewart. Colorado expects its two best offensive players to come back this week, a rarity in sports but a likelihood for USC. Receiver Paul Richardson (four games) and running back Rodney Stewart (two games) have been out of late, but coach Jon Embree said he expects them both back. Richardson spent his senior year in 2009 at Gardena Serra high, where he served as Robert Woods' bookend receiver, so he has plenty of history with the Trojans. The 5-6, 175-pound Stewart is an Ohio native who wasn't highly recruited out of high school but has gone on to success in the Big 12 and now the Pac-12.

4. Health on defense. It looks like Dion Bailey might miss the game because of a concussion. Jawanza Starling is likely missing it because of an unspecified injury, and T.J. McDonald is missing the first half because of a suspension. Combine that with the pile-up of injuries at cornerback over the last several weeks, and USC's secondary is going to be severely shorthanded. Kiffin and position coach Sammy Knight are lucky the Trojans are playing Colorado this week -- otherwise, it'd be a significant issue. And defensive end Wes Horton missed both sessions this week because of what appears to be a left arm issue. Also, the Buffaloes are getting two cornerbacks back this week, which should make for a decidedly better performance from their secondary. They played one game with six scholarship corners injured last month.

5. Blowout possibilities? This is the Trojans' last legitimate chance to send a team packing in one half, which they've yet to do this season. The closest thing to it would be their 20-0 halftime lead over Cal, but even that was a bit of a game in the second half. Colorado hasn't finished within three touchdowns of an opponent since Oct. 1, so this would appear to be the perfect opportunity. Matt Barkley might actually get a snap or two off, too, for the first time this year. If he does, Jesse Scroggins might be the guy Kiffin asks to hand the ball off a few times. With back-to-back games against teams they're 0-4 against in the last two years in Oregon and Washington approaching, the Trojans could use some all-around rest.