Shareece Wright

The last game of the season for USC could mark the first career start for cornerback T.J. Bryant . The sophomore from Tallahassee, Fla., continues to work extensively with the first-team defense in preparation for the Dec. 26 Emerald Bowl game against Boston College. "It just gives me the opportunity to show what I've been taught to do," Bryant said Friday after practice. The 6-foot, 180-pound Bryant is competing against junior Shareece Wright and redshirt freshman Brian Baucham for the chance to replace injured Josh Pinkard . "Somebody's got to play out there that hasn't played much," Coach Pete Carroll said this week.

UCLA and USC players projected to be selected in rounds 2-7 of the NFL draft (April 28-30): UCLA RAHIM MOORE, safety: Best free safety in this draft class. Good range, but needs to get stronger. Projected round: 2. DAVID CARTER, defensive tackle: Performance at the Shrine Game bumped up his stock after a poor season. Projected: 6. KAI FORBATH, kicker: Booted 85 field goals, tying him for first in school history with John Lee. Projected: 6-7. RYAN TAYLOR, center: Showed good versatility, moving to center after playing guard as a junior.

USC's secondary shuffle went from temporary to permanent on Monday after starting cornerback Shareece Wright was declared academically ineligible. Wright's status had been in doubt throughout training camp, forcing Josh Pinkard to move from safety to cornerback for last weekend's mock game at the Coliseum. Wright is the third projected starter lost by a defense that is in transition following the departures of several key players from the 2008 unit to the NFL. Defensive end Armond Armstead suffered a broken bone in his left foot on Aug. 20 and is expected to be sidelined at least five more weeks.

If this were a different sort of football season, Rick Neuheisel might not resort to threats. The UCLA coach might not stand before hundreds of students at a pep rally and nag them about showing up for the crosstown rivalry game against USC. "This is one of your classes," he said over loudspeakers earlier this week. "You've got to be at this ballgame. You fail if you don't come. " Neither the Bruins nor the Trojans is ranked and neither is headed to a bowl game. Their annual confrontation Saturday has not exactly captivated a nation.

USC players were on the field before the NFL draft concluded Saturday, but they were still talking about the fates of former teammates when an 81-play scrimmage was over. "Everyone fell lower than we all expected," senior cornerback Shareece Wright said. Safety Taylor Mays' slip to the second round, along with his critical comments aimed at former coach Pete Carroll , was only some of the fallout. Receiver Damian Williams was the only Trojan with eligibility remaining who was selected before the fourth round.

USC cornerback Shareece Wright had the charge of resisting a police officer against him reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor Thursday in San Bernardino County Superior Court. In a decision that eliminated the possibility that Wright would spend time in state prison, Judge Douglas N. Gericke ruled the player's actions at a friend's party in Colton in September were "less violent to a significant degree," than how a felony is described.

UCLA and USC players projected to be selected in rounds 2-7 of the NFL draft (April 28-30): UCLA RAHIM MOORE, safety: Best free safety in this draft class. Good range, but needs to get stronger. Projected round: 2. DAVID CARTER, defensive tackle: Performance at the Shrine Game bumped up his stock after a poor season. Projected: 6. KAI FORBATH, kicker: Booted 85 field goals, tying him for first in school history with John Lee. Projected: 6-7. RYAN TAYLOR, center: Showed good versatility, moving to center after playing guard as a junior.

USC fullback Stanley Havili has been in this situation before. The fifth-year senior will make his fourth consecutive opening-game start when No. 14 USC plays Hawaii on Thursday night at Aloha Stadium. "It does seem like I've been here forever," Havili said this week. Havili's final season got off to an awkward start when he was suspended one day into training camp for punching cornerback T.J. Bryant during a conditioning drill a few days earlier. Bryant had surgery on a broken cheekbone and will sit out the opener.

USC Coach Pete Carroll is disciplining cornerback Shareece Wright for his role in an incident that led to his being charged with felony resisting a police officer, but the junior will play against Oregon State if cleared medically to do so, Carroll said Sunday. Carroll declined to specify the nature of the disciplinary action. "When we have situations and issues to deal with we always do so internally," Carroll said after the Trojans practiced for the first time in three days.

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.

The suspension of USC tailback Dillon Baxter , resulting from a golf cart ride the freshman accepted from a fellow student who is a registered agent, continued to reverberate Monday with the school responding to Internet reports that included photographs of Trojans players taken at parties sponsored by the student. Baxter was declared ineligible for last week's game at Oregon State because he accepted a ride on campus from other USC students, one of whom was Teague Egan , chairman of 1st Round Enterprises.

Reflecting on his team's 24-21 victory at Arizona the night before, USC Coach Lane Kiffin said Sunday that he was most pleased with the "style" with which it was achieved. But there was substance as well in the win over the then-No. 18 Wildcats. The win over a ranked opponent, on the road, qualifies as the most significant of Kiffin's short tenure. "In our first year together, to have a game like that is very critical," Kiffin said during a teleconference with reporters.

Motivation won't be a problem for USC on Saturday night against Arizona. Not for Trojans upperclassmen, anyway. Last week, four seniors received invitations to the Senior Bowl, a prestigious evaluation stop on the way to next April's NFL draft. But center Kristofer O'Dowd, fullback Stanley Havili, cornerback Shareece Wright and receiver Ronald Johnson aren't the only Trojans seeking to impress pro scouts over the final four games. With USC facing another bowl-game ban in 2011, draft-eligible juniors and third-year sophomores could be considering moves to the pros.

Safety Marshall Jones , slowed by injuries throughout his USC career, is expected to play a larger role Saturday night when the Trojans meet Arizona State in a Pacific 10 Conference game at the Coliseum. Jones, a junior who starred at Westlake Village Oaks Christian High, redshirted last season after suffering a broken vertebra in his neck. He has played as a reserve or on special teams in every game this season, but worked with the starters this week and could alternate with Jawanza Starling against the Sun Devils.

Shareece Wright couldn't watch anymore. Sitting at home last Halloween night, ineligible to play, the USC cornerback turned away from the television as Oregon decimated the Trojans' defense. Six months later, Wright again couldn't watch. The NFL draft was unfolding and, having decided to return for a fifth season at USC, he was not a part of it. One cornerback was taken, then another, until five were selected in the first round. Three weeks ago, after USC's defense broke down and gave up a second consecutive game-winning field goal, Wright wanted to shield his eyes yet again.

Shareece Wright had been holding it in. The senior cornerback, a team captain, wanted to speak up and talk to teammates about the way the Trojans' defense has been playing but did not want to overstep his bounds. On Thursday, with Coach Lane Kiffin's blessing, Wright addressed the entire defense, which is ranked 100th nationally and 116th against the pass. "I needed to take that leadership role," Wright said. "I just told the truth from a player's perspective.

It's the toughest ticket in town, with prices ranging from $100 to $5,000 on one leading marketplace website. But fans are not the only ones scrambling for tickets to Saturday's showdown between top-ranked USC and fifth-ranked Ohio State at the Coliseum. USC players are allocated four tickets to each home game. Several Trojans said Monday that their phones have been ringing and buzzing with requests from friends and family members. "It's crazy," senior receiver Patrick Turner said.

The suspension of USC tailback Dillon Baxter , resulting from a golf cart ride the freshman accepted from a fellow student who is a registered agent, continued to reverberate Monday with the school responding to Internet reports that included photographs of Trojans players taken at parties sponsored by the student. Baxter was declared ineligible for last week's game at Oregon State because he accepted a ride on campus from other USC students, one of whom was Teague Egan , chairman of 1st Round Enterprises.

Nick Holt , Washington's defensive coordinator, returns to the Coliseum on Saturday aiming for a repeat of last season's upset victory over USC. Holt served two stints at USC before leaving after the 2008 season to join Steve Sarkisian in Seattle. The pair combined to outcoach Pete Carroll and his staff during last season's 16-13 victory at Husky Stadium. After the game, USC offensive players said the Huskies were calling out the Trojans' plays before the ball was snapped.