Is it UCLA week? All the questions today were about Matt Barkley's Heisman chances and NFL decision...
- Injury List: DT Christian Tupou, DT DaJohn Harris, S Drew McAllister, WR Robert Woods, LB Dion Bailey, LB Hayes Pullard, LB Lamar Dawson, RB George Farmer and TE/FB Rhett Ellison. "An example of the toll of that game that it took on us," Lane Kiffin explained the lengthy injury report.
Matt Barkley feels he is a deserving candidate because the team is "finishing strong." At the very least, the junior does not understand why not being eligible for a bowl game would be a strike against him. "Isn't the whole thing decided before the bowl games? I don't even see why it is a consideration," Barkley reasoned. - If Matt Barkley leaves early for the NFL, Saturday would be his last game running out of the tunnel as a Trojan player, which can be an emotional moment. "[We're] gonna make sure that he doesn't pull a Leinart on us," Kiffin joked about 2005. "Matt [Leinart] was still crying late in the first series. I think he started 0 for 5."
- The USC captain always keeps an even keel. "I usually take emotions out of the game," Barkley said. "When I look back, then the emotions will start to kick in."
- Is he going to declare early? "The majority of kids in his position would leave," Kiffin said. "Because of who he is probably brings it closer to 50-50 because of what his values are in life compared to most kids his age."
- LT Matt Kalil and S T.J. McDonald also have decisions to make. Both agreed to wait until after the season to even entertain the discussion.
- With all the distractions this week, Kalil is worried about a young team responding to rivalry intensity after a big win. "[Our team] is inexperienced with big wins like this," he said the older guys have to refocus the team. "It's games like these where a lot of teams can be caught off guard."
- As for McDonald, he will face off against his brother Tevin, who is a top corner for the Bruins. "I've talked to him just not about football. We're not going to talk trash."
- Barkley compared the USC-UCLA rivalry to his high school battles between Mater Dei and Servite. "This is the game you want to have," he said.
- The quarterback was thrown into a little crosstown controversy in 2009 with his exclamation point TD pass. "I was kind of oblivious to all the political aspects of football," Barkley remembered being a freshman. "I was just stoked that we scored."
- Earlier this season, Kiffin wore a Serra shirt on Colin Cowherd's radio show for which he "took a lot of heat" from the Mater Dei guys. As an ode to the Monarchs, he wore an MD sweatshirt at practice today.
- Practice intensity was high today and even led to a collision between McDonald and Marqise Lee. The star freshman stayed down for a while, but Kiffin excpects him to be fine.
- Here is the full show from Kiffin...
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