Koffler Could Start Against Notre Dame

Coach John Robinson said it is possible that backup quarterback Matt Koffler will start against Notre Dame on Saturday at the Coliseum in place of Brad Otton, who was hurt last Saturday in the 48-41 loss to UCLA.

“Brad’s rib cage and sternum are injured and he will not play in this game unless he his pain-free,” Robinson said.

“We will work Koffler and Quincy Woods at quarterback. If Brad can get back on the practice field and play, he will. We will not know that until Thursday.”

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Retiring Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz cast his vote in favor of USC retaining Robinson.

“You can have bad years, you can have bad games,” Holtz said. “This thing of people expecting perfection out of everybody but themselves bothers me.”

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Holtz on USC freshman R. Jay Soward, who gained 260 yards on six catches against UCLA:

“Throw him a four-yard hitch and he can turn it into a 70-yard play. He reminds me of Raghib “Rocket” Ismail with his quickness.”

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Play execution, senior wide receiver Chris Miller said, is the key if USC is to defeat Notre Dame on Saturday.

“We feel our talent level is the same as theirs,” Miller said.

“We just need to execute our plays better than they do, particularly in the second half. If we do that, we’ll be all right.”

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Punter Jim Wren finished the Pacific 10 season against UCLA by averaging 47.3 yards on three punts, and wound up leading the conference statistics with a season average of 45.5 yards.

But that did not carry any weight Monday when the Pac-10 coaches voted for the all-conference teams. Cal’s Ryan Longwell (45.2 for the season) was named first team punter and Arizona’s Matt Peyton (43.7) second team.

Only three Trojan defensive players made the first team: Tackle Darrell Russell, linebacker Sammy Knight and cornerback Daylon McCutcheon. No Trojan was selected to the first team on offense, but tight end John Allred made the second team.

Wren was the only Trojan to lead the league in any category. Knight came in second in interceptions with five.