Killeen Readies for Key Chance

MIAMI â€”  Ryan Killeen visualizes lining up for a last-second game-winning kick every day in practice.

The situation has yet to arise in three seasons, but it could tonight in the Orange Bowl if the top-ranked Trojans and No. 2 Oklahoma are as evenly matched as they appear to be.

Killeen, a senior from Norco, said he would be ready for the clutch moment.

“Every game has been a huge game for us, trying to keep that No. 1 spot all season, so I prepare for this game the same way,� said Killeen, who rebounded from mid-season inconsistency and made his last seven field-goal attempts.

In the regular-season finale against UCLA, Killeen kicked field goals of 37, 42, 34, 36 and 34 yards in the Trojans’ 29-24 victory.

“Coming off a good game like that ... you just kind of get a little rhythm,� he said. “I’m feeling good and confident.�

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Coach Pete Carroll said a small but important challenge the Trojans would face tonight was time management off the field.

Because of pregame and halftime shows, the teams will not be able to follow their normal routines.

“We’re off the field real early -- there’s a 38-minute wait or something before the game starts and a long halftime,� Carroll said. “We have to be really well equipped to manage those well ... to make sure we don’t get off kilter in any way.

“We need to let them know it’s coming so they anticipate it and they’re not frustrated by the time frames.�

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USC has no players from Oklahoma on its roster. Oklahoma has five Californians: tight end Chris Chester of Tustin, quarterback Tommy Grady of Huntington Beach, linebacker Lance Mitchell of San Francisco, defensive back Donte Nicholson of Ramona and defensive back Chijioke Onyenegecha of Richmond.

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Paul McDonald, the quarterback on the 1978 Trojan team that shared the national title with Alabama and who is now an analyst on USC radio broadcasts, is rooting for this year’s team to do what he couldn’t: win back-to-back championships.

At a recent ceremony at USC commemorating the 25th anniversary of the 1979 team, which was ranked second to Alabama in the final polls, McDonald said he urged the current Trojans not to let this opportunity slip away.

“At the end, I said we screwed it up because we tied Stanford,� he said, referring to a 21-21 tie in the sixth game of the 1979 season. “We had a chance to be the greatest team in USC history but we kind of fell through the cracks of sports legends and it was time for this team to fix that little crevice, time for USC to repeat and be the first Trojan team in history to repeat.

“I threw the gauntlet down and the fans went crazy. Pete Carroll said to me, ‘Thanks a lot.’ �

Today’s matchup between USC and Oklahoma, McDonald said, “is totally fitting, given the fact that Oklahoma has really had the stage the last two, three, four years, while USC has been rising. The Trojans have thrust themselves to the top.

“It’s perfect. Storybook written. You couldn’t ask for better.�