A painful end to a painful regular season

Yet another heartbreaking stunner in a season full of them.

With shocked and pained looks on their faces, the Trojans sat silenced in the locker room after their 21-17 loss to Arizona at the Coliseum on Saturday. It was a scene that symbolized the afternoon, previous month and most of an anguish-filled fall for USC.  

"We didn't get what we wanted to get today," a subdued Coach Carroll told his players in the quieted locker room. "I'm obviously disappointed."

Arizona's game-winning, fourth-quarter drive traveled 80 yards in 10 plays, including three back-breaking third-down conversions, before culminating with a 36-yard touchdown pass. It was a series that epitomized what the Trojans have endured this season, including two quarterback injuries, Stafon Johnson's life-threatening accident and more losses than any USC team since 2001. And the year's valleys have only been magnified by the peaks the Trojans also climbed this season, including a thrilling win at Ohio State and victories over Notre Dame and UCLA.

The scoreboard wasn't the only place that showed the Trojans had lost. Their faces and words also told the story of a day and season so uncharacteristic of a program synonymous with near-perfect success throughout the decade.

"I don't know what's going on next," Carroll said in the locker room, referring to the team's bowl destination but also, unintentionally, speaking to the future of the Trojans. "We'll figure that out."

The Trojans head into their bowl game, as of now at an undetermined site, having lost three of their last five contests and four of their previous 10 matchups. It's a foreign experience for all of the players, but especially for the seniors who had witnessed nothing but Pac-10 championships until this season.

Carroll made sure to recognize and laud the outgoing players in the locker room after the loss, even pausing part of the way through, seemingly overcome with emotion.

"This does not take away from who you are and all the wonderful stuff you've accomplished," Carroll said in the locker room while singling out certain seniors for their contributions over their careers. "You've done unbelievable stuff to put us where we've gone."

The seniors' -- and all Trojans' -- mark on the 2009 season and USC legacy is far from over, though. They have one more game left, at a bowl in the coming weeks, to prove something. It won't be a top-tier bowl, but it's a chance to bounce back from tribulation, show who they are and leave a heritage on the program for years to come.

"Even with this disappointment, I'm not going to the pits, because I'm too proud of you guys," Carroll said. "We'll come back."

The post-game prayer, led by senior fullback Adam Goodman, couldn't have wrapped up the day, the previous five games and the regular season much better.

"We face many trials, Lord, but please grow us through them," Goodman prayed in the silent locker room as the players leaned on each other, heads down and arms on shoulders.

Hope exists, hope exists. There is no doubt about that, as the adversity the players are facing in the present will develop them into the champions of the future.

The prayer over, the bowl destination up in the air, Carroll closed out his talk and the regular season with one final plea.

"We must always lean on each other as one," Carroll said. "Always."