- Injury report: CB Torin Harris (shoulder) and WR Robert Woods (various injuries) did not practice at all. Every other player participated to some degree.
- RB George Farmer left practice early with an apparent left leg injury. He was carted back to the locker room.
- Kicker Andre Heidari (ankle) expects to be back fully tomorrow.
- Lane Kiffin did not elaborate on the Dillon Baxter situation. He cited the "no distractions" motto, which has been this team's mantra from day one.
- Matt Barkley, Wes Horton, Robert Woods, Brandon Carswell and Chris Galippo demoed new Nike practice uniforms (photo by John McGillen) this morning with a different material. "Other teams have had this for 10 years now," Barkley said. "We're finally coming to grips with [it]."
- Quote of the Day: "We feel that mojo, that swagger, that we need to have on both sides of the ball," said Barkley about the team's growing confidence.
- Woods is generating national buzz for the Biletnikoff Award (nation's top wide receiver). "The thing that's special about him is that he's not as big as some of those other guys," said Kiffin who emphasized "his ability to line up at so many spots" as the key to his success.
- The offensive line is the central focus of the Trojans' growth. USC's weakness is becoming a strength. Kiffin praised guards Marcus Martin and John Martinez for playing their best games of the season.
- After a mess of penalties, QB hits and sacks at Arizona State, the young Trojans' offensive line never flinched in South Bend as part of a sack-less performance without a single procedure flag. "It just goes to show the maturity of our team," said LT Matt Kalil.
- The national stories will focus on Matt Barkley versus Andrew Luck as junior quarterbacks who could declare for the 2012 NFL Draft, but Kalil's top competition if he goes pro will be Stanford LT Jonathan Martin. "I have seen him," Kalil admitted to checking out Martin, who is a Los Angeles native. "He's a great player. They have only given up two sacks, so obviously he's great at protecting Luck."
- And of course, Barkley answered several questions about going against Luck. "Our level of respect makes the game kind of special," he said. "But, there's nothing he's going to do to stop me and I can't stop him."
- As a sophomore, Barkley played maybe his best game of the season in Palo Alto and took the loss extremely hard. "I loved that game last year. It was sad to see us lose in the last seconds like that, but even more reason to try and go out and win this year."
- Barkley's key to the game: "I think it's going to come down to who is going to control the ball better." Turnovers and time of possession.
- In the big picture, USC is sitting at 6-1 with a showcase game at home this weekend despite only playing 45 scholarship players against Notre Dame. "Everybody's concern is what's coming with the reductions, but we're already getting practice at it," Kiffin said. "It's good for our fans that have read so many things over the years about how bad it's going to get. To play like that with so few players, it's really good to see."
- Here is an extended session with Coach Kiffin who had his game face on today...
University Southern California Trojans
Stanford Tuesday: Notes
October 01, 2011 | USC Ripsit Blog
Stanford Tuesday: Notes
On a damp Tuesday morning, the Trojans lock in on Stanford...
Wednesday, July 08
Wednesday, July 08
Wednesday, July 08
Monday, July 06
