Van Raaphorst Knows Score

Mike Van Raaphorst doesn’t have to wait for USC Coach Paul Hackett to name a starting quarterback for Saturday’s game against Arizona State: It looks like John Fox to him.

“I’ll just go out and hopefully get a chance to play. Other than that, I’m planning on being second string this week,” Van Raaphorst said. “[Hackett] said be ready to play, but when you’re getting no reps in practice, you know you’re not going to [start].”

That leaves Van Raaphorst to contemplate losing the job for the second time in his career.

“This time around is a little harder because it kind of looks like it’s all my fault,” said Van Raaphorst, who passed for a school-record 415 yards in a loss to Stanford but was 1-4 as the starter after Carson Palmer broke his collarbone.

“I played as good as I can and left it all out there on the field. Evidently it wasn’t enough,” Van Raaphorst said.

Hackett, trying to keep any edge over Arizona State he can, hasn’t named Fox the starter even though he has gotten the lion’s share of work with the first team and improved throughout the week.

“We’ll decide before the game,” said Hackett, who spoke with Van Raaphorst briefly after practice. “Mike and I have been through this now for a year and a half. Mike has been back and forth. Mike knows he has given everything for these past four weeks. He’s played brilliantly at times. He’ll be ready at whatever time.”