Quick Hits

Former USC star Matt Leinart was asked about the difficulty of keeping a positive attitude after losing the starting quarterback job to Kurt Warner just before the beginning of the season. "It took me a while just to sit back and say, 'You know what? I can be a distraction and be all mad and point the finger, or I can be a good teammate and support Kurt, and still work my butt off and prepare every day like I'm the starting quarterback,' " he said. "And that's the road I decided to take."

at Miami 19, N.Y. Jets 17: Jets Coach Rex Ryan boldly predicts this will be the Jets' last loss of the year . . . oops, season. at New England 49, Buffalo 21: First-round bye will keep the Patriots from falling behind early for the fourth consecutive week. Tennessee 23, at Houston 22: Does anyone believe injury-depleted Texans can win a playoff game? Can anyone name their QB? at Jacksonville 19, Indianapolis 13: Once headed for a winless season, Colts won two games and Andrew Luck Derby.

UCLA safety Dietrich Riley lay on the field, a little frightened, Saturday night. By the time he was being taken off the field on a stretcher, he was already negotiating to stay at the Rose Bowl. That's how quickly Riley was able to exhale following a collision with California running back Isi Sofele in the fourth quarter. "It was scary," Riley said. "I didn't know what to expect. I couldn't feel anything in my upper and lower body. " When the feeling came back, "I was saying, 'I want to get off. I want to walk.

UCLA safety Dietrich Riley lay on the field, a little frightened, Saturday night. By the time he was being taken off the field on a stretcher, he was already negotiating to stay at the Rose Bowl. That's how quickly Riley was able to exhale following a collision with California running back Isi Sofele in the fourth quarter. "It was scary," Riley said. "I didn't know what to expect. I couldn't feel anything in my upper and lower body. " When the feeling came back, "I was saying, 'I want to get off. I want to walk.

Brian Baucham , USC's third cornerback before he was injured in a motorcycle accident this month, visited practice Monday and said he hoped to return to workouts in three or four weeks. "I've been truly blessed to just be alive," said Baucham, whose left foot and knee were wrapped in bandages. "I could be dead in a casket right now." Baucham was traveling from his family's Torrance home to USC on the morning of Sept. 17 when the accident occurred on the northbound 110 Freeway.

Lane Kiffin's pre-spring pronouncement that all players had a clean slate and that every job was open resonated more with tailback C.J. Gable than perhaps any other Trojan. "I really believe him," Gable said Thursday. After spending last season in former coach Pete Carroll's doghouse, Gable is attempting to get Kiffin to believe in him . Again. Kiffin was USC's offensive coordinator when Gable started the 2006 opener as a freshman. Gable also started the 2007 and 2008 openers, but he was seemingly banished from the tailback rotation last season after fumbling in the last two games of the 2008 season.

Greater San Diego has been fertile recruiting ground for USC, producing Heisman Trophy-winning running backs Marcus Allen and Reggie Bush . Now comes freshman Dillon Baxter . It's too soon, of course, to know how Baxter's Trojans career will play out. But the early enrollee put on a show during USC's scrimmage on Saturday, scoring on a spectacular 50-yard run that left several defensive players on the ground grasping helplessly...

These were the guys earmarked for the come-to- UCLA brochure that Bruins Coach Rick Neuheisel longs to produce. Wide receiver Randall Carroll and tight end Morrell Presley picked UCLA over USC. While there wasn't much evidence to why there was such a recruiting tug-a-war last fall, there is this spring. Carroll, in particular, has impressed coaches. His play was a sharp contrast to others Monday. Carroll snagged everything thrown his way, while other receivers were lost on routes and dropping passes.

Adam " Pacman " Jones won't be playing for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers after all. The Canadian Football League team announced Wednesday it had ended its pursuit of the controversial ex-NFL cornerback, one day after multiple reports said Jones would play for the team. "It is unfortunate that this situation became public; however, our position has remained consistent," Blue Bombers Coach Mike Kelly said in a statement, adding, "We have completed our assessment and due diligence and at this time we will not be pursuing the services of Adam Jones."

UCLA junior receiver Josh Smith will miss the rest of spring practice after an MRI revealed a tear in the posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. He is expected to return in time to play in the season opener against Kansas State. Smith must decide whether to undergo surgery for the injury, which he suffered this week. Coach Rick Neuheisel said treatment typically involves only rehabilitation and the wearing of a protective brace. "Right now I don't know a whole lot of the details," Smith said after practice Thursday.

Matt Barkley anticipates no special greeting when USC plays California on Saturday at the Coliseum. He got one last season at Cal after saying a few days before the game that he didn't expect the crowd to be as loud as it was at Ohio Stadium. Fans at Memorial Stadium found fliers taped to their seats with a quote from Barkley and instructions to disrupt the then-freshman. One was slipped into Barkley's helmet before he went onto the field. Barkley shook off the potential distraction, passing for 283 yards in a 30-3 victory.

USC quarterback Matt Barkley is prepared to put the finishing touch on his first season. Barkley, a true freshman, will make his 12th start Saturday against Boston College in the Emerald Bowl at AT&T Park. It has been an up-and-down season for the 8-4 Trojans and their 19-year-old quarterback. Barkley has passed for 13 touchdowns and had 12 passes intercepted. But he has had three weeks to get ready for his final game in what has been a season-long learning experience.