Not a Dream Trip for Woods

Only a couple of months ago, Quincy Woods imagined going home to Chicago this weekend on his way to lead USC over Notre Dame.

Instead, he goes into South Bend, Ind., this Saturday as USC’s No. 3 quarterback on a 2-3 team trying to save Coach John Robinson’s job.

“That’s something I think about a lot,” Woods said. “It hurts. I wanted to go home as the starting quarterback and lead my team. I just always wanted to beat Notre Dame.”

Woods, from suburban Richton Park, Ill., grew up pulling for underdogs to knock off Notre Dame. USC, Michigan and Notre Dame all recruited him.

“I finally chose USC because it gave me the chance to play in the big games, and beat Notre Dame,” he said.

Woods was once the favorite to win the three-way quarterback battle this year, but John Fox easily beat out Woods and Mike Van Raaphorst.

This week, Van Raaphorst and Woods are getting more snaps than usual, partly because of Fox’s ankle injury and his performance in Saturday’s 35-7 loss to Arizona State. Though Fox is still the starter, it’s clear coaches want the backups more prepared than they were when they got their first snaps of the season against the Sun Devils.

NEXT FOR USC

Who: Notre Dame

Where: Notre Dame Stadium

When: Saturday, 12:30 p.m.

TV: Channel 4

Radio: KLSX-FM (97.1)