Marc Tyler

USC is looking to rebound from last week's turnover-plagued loss at Arizona State, which knocked the Trojans out of the Associated Press Top 25. Teams included in those rankings have not been kind to Arizona, which has lost to three top-10 teams. Staff writer Gary Klein examines the game's issues and matchups: Mystery team No one is quite sure what to make of Arizona. The Wildcats are 1-3, but their losses came against No. 5 Oklahoma State, No. 6 Stanford and No. 9 Oregon.

Lane Kiffin is a long way from Southeastern Conference country, watching from afar as the Cam Newton saga unfolds at Auburn. As Tennessee's coach, Kiffin recruited Newton when the Florida transfer was playing in junior college. Kiffin, hired by USC in January, said the quarterback and his father made an unofficial visit to Knoxville. "We didn't offer him a scholarship, which doesn't make me look very smart, but we did talk to him," Kiffin said Wednesday. "We just went in a different direction.

Lane Kiffin had not walked out of the Coliseum on the losing end of a football game since 2001. That also was the last year USC was unranked during the regular season. But that changed Sunday, the Trojans' 32-31 loss to Washington the night before dropping the Trojans out of the Associated Press top 25 media poll and putting Kiffin on the spot as he attempts to rally his players for Saturday's game at Stanford. A loss to Oregon dropped Stanford from ninth to 16th in the AP poll, but Coach Jim Harbaugh's Cardinal is among Pacific 10 Conference teams no longer intimidated by the Trojans.

It seemed like a no-brainer, but USC Coach Lane Kiffin waited until Thursday to make it official. Senior Allen Bradford , who rushed for 223 yards last week against Washington, will start at tailback Saturday against No. 16 Stanford. "Hopefully, he'll be a big part of the game," Kiffin said. "We're going to need to run the ball. We're going to need to run it a lot. " Bradford was No. 1 on the depth chart at the start of training camp, but he was displaced by junior Marc Tyler , who started four of the first five games, including last week's 32-31 loss against Washington.

Matt Barkley watched from the sideline at the Coliseum last November as Notre Dame ended USC's eight-game winning streak in the series. The Trojans quarterback had suffered an ankle injury the previous week. "I was feeling kind of helpless," Barkley said Tuesday. "It's a terrible feeling. " Barkley is looking forward to Saturday's game at Notre Dame Stadium, where as a freshman he passed for 380 yards and two touchdowns in a 34-27 Trojans victory in 2009. "I just remember it being electric," he said of the environment, adding that it was not as hostile as Oregon's Autzen Stadium or Ohio State's Ohio Stadium.

Lane Kiffin went on … and on … and on. Taking a cue, perhaps, from a seasoned politician, USC's coach stretched his opening statement Tuesday at Pacific 12 Conference media day to nearly nine minutes. "I've eaten up all the time," Kiffin finally joked, "so there are no hard questions you can ask me right now. " Kiffin and the Trojans will begin finding answers next week when they open training camp in preparation for Kiffin's second season. USC is coming off an 8-5 record in 2010, its worst season since 2001.

USC's passing attack has thrived as quarterback Matt Barkley and receiver Robert Woods break or flirt with records seemingly every game. But what of the running game? USC ranks 71st among 120 major-college teams, averaging 136.6 yards a game. "It's just been very up and down," Coach Lane Kiffin said Monday. "Not near enough explosive plays. " USC has passed for 14 touchdowns and rushed for four. Marc Tyler is entrenched as the starter, but the coaching staff has not settled on a consistent complement.

Monte Kiffin is architect of the famed Tampa 2 defense, a scheme that USC's assistant head coach for defense acknowledged Tuesday would be of no use against top-ranked Oregon and its high-speed spread attack. "The Tampa 2 isn't exactly what you shut down the triple option with," he said, laughing. "That's for a whole different deal. " Kiffin, father of Coach Lane Kiffin , had great success with the Tampa 2 in the NFL. But he was running different schemes when he faced the wishbone and other offensive styles during college coaching stints at Nebraska, Arkansas and North Carolina State before moving to the NFL in the early 1980s.

USC Coach Lane Kiffin and his players, banned from bowl games for two seasons and functioning under other sanctions because of NCAA violations related to Reggie Bush , were largely unemotional Tuesday in the aftermath of Bush's announcement that he would forfeit the 2005 Heisman Trophy. "I respect any decision that Reggie made," said Kiffin, who was the Trojans' offensive coordinator in 2005. "I'm sure it was extremely hard for him. " Kiffin also reiterated a point he has made since the NCAA announced penalties in June.

Freshman tailback Dillon Baxter did not travel with the Trojans to play in Saturday's game against Oregon State and is being held out indefinitely pending a compliance inquiry. Athletic Director Pat Haden said Friday night that Baxter had accepted a ride in a golf cart on campus Thursday and that one of the people on the cart was a student who is a registered sports agent. Haden said the NCAA, the NFL Players Assn. and USC's Office of Student Affairs had been notified.