Practice Makes . . . What?

USC’s week of practice after the disaster at Notre Dame has been more upbeat than one might expect.

“The guys came out and practiced well,” quarterback Mike Van Raaphorst said. “It’s never been a problem giving 100%. We just need to execute better in the second half.”

A couple of practices ended with the “fourth-quarter drill,” a grueling session that includes push-ups, somersaults and crawling on all fours.

“I like it. It toughens you up,” tailback Chad Morton said. “It’s a hard drill. It will make us play hard. It tires you out.”

Said Coach Paul Hackett, whose early-week anger dissipated as the team began preparing for Stanford: “I think it went very well. It’s been a very difficult week.

“Let’s face it: Stanford’s the leader. You might as well bounce back and play the best in the conference.”

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Darryl Knight, the brother of former USC standouts Sammy and Ryan Knight, has moved from linebacker to tight end and back to linebacker this season.

He’ll get a start Saturday at weakside linebacker in place of Markus Steele, who will play but not start after sitting out practices because of a shoulder injury.

Make no mistake: Steele, USC’s leading tackler, figures to be on the field most of the time.

“I expect him to be maybe even fresher than he has been because he stayed off his legs this week,” Hackett said.

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Offensive lineman Donta Kendrick (ankle) has been ruled out for Saturday, and Jason Grain, recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery, is not expected to return before mid-November. . . . Backup linebacker Troy Polamalu is doubtful after taking a hard hit against Notre Dame.