Trojan Kicker Sounds Off on Crowd Noise

USC turned up the piped-in crowd noise to near-deafening levels Wednesday, giving kicker Ryan Killeen a semblance of what awaits at Oregon on Saturday.

Killeen struggled in his last performance before a noisy crowd on the road. He missed two field-goal attempts and a critical extra-point attempt in the Trojans’ 30-27 overtime defeat at Washington State on Oct. 5.

He rebounded with two solid performances in home games, making three of four field-goal attempts and three extra points against California, and two field-goal attempts and five extra points against Washington.

“I just have to tune it all out,” Killeen said of noise produced by Oregon’s fans. “I can’t let them get in my head. You don’t listen to it.”

Killeen was recruited from Mt. San Antonio College to shore up the Trojans’ weakness on kickoffs. Last year, for example, Oregon took advantage of short kicks and produced 228 yards in return yardage in a 24-22 victory.

“My plan is to do what I came here for -- kick the ball out of the end zone,” Killeen said.

Rain is not forecast in Eugene, Ore., on Saturday, but Killeen kicked wet footballs earlier this week to prepare just in case.

“I’m not worrying about it,” he said. “If it happens, it happens.”

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Quarterback Carson Palmer was selected as one of five semifinalists for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, presented annually to the nation’s top senior quarterback. Other finalists are Ken Dorsey of Miami, Byron Leftwich of Marshall, Seneca Wallace of Iowa State and Dave Ragone of Louisville. The winner will be announced Dec. 4.

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Senior Doyal Butler, who switched from tight end to defensive line at the end of training camp, moved past walk-on Jay Bottom on the depth chart and will back up junior defensive end Omar Nazel against Oregon.

Butler, 6 feet 3 and 245 pounds, impressed coaches with his speed. He said he acclimated to the position by observing Nazel and sophomore Kenechi Udeze.

“You just can’t run around people,” he said. “I watch what Kenechi does and what Omar does and try to imitate them.”

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Offensive tackle Jacob Rogers, who missed the Washington game because of a bruised right knee, practiced and said he is prepared to start against Oregon. “The way I’ve been healing the last few days, I’ll be good to go,” he said.... Receiver D. Hale practiced for the first time since injuring his left foot during training camp and might play against Oregon, Coach Pete Carroll said.... David Davis did not take part in competitive drills because of soreness in his right leg. Davis kicks with his left foot.