| USC's Booty sits out practice, but hopes to play this weekend |
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| Written by Admin |
| Monday, 08 October 2007 17:11 |
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LOS ANGELES (AP) -Southern California quarterback John David Booty sat out practice Monday, watching as Mark Sanchez played with the first unit. Afterward, Booty said he hoped the broken bone in the middle finger of his throwing hand wouldn't keep him from playing Saturday against Arizona. ``I sure hope so. That's my mind-set right now,'' said Booty, injured in the second quarter of USC's shocking 24-23 loss to Stanford last weekend. ``There's not really much you can do for it - ice it down. That's what I'm going to do. ``The big thing is to get the swelling down.'' Booty, wearing a wrap on his finger, saw a specialist earlier Monday and was cleared to practice. He said he intended on trying to throw Tuesday. ``That's my goal, is to go tomorrow, give it a shot,'' he said. ``I can take the pain, for the most part. If I feel like I can compete, throw the ball accurately with some velocity, then I can play.'' Booty passed for 364 yards against Stanford, but was intercepted four times in the second half of the stunning upset. Favored by 41 points, the Trojans had won 35 straight home games since losing to the Cardinal 21-16 on Sept. 29, 2001. The Trojans (4-1, 2-1 Pac-10) entered as the No. 2 team in the AP Top 25, and Stanford came in having been outscored 141-55 in its previous three games - all at home. USC is ranked 10th this week. Trojans coach Pete Carroll said Booty's finger looked a lot worse Monday than it did after the game. ``It's black and blue and all that kind of stuff,'' Carroll said. ``Mark has to go with the first group and play like he's starting until he doesn't. We're going to prepare him as the starter.'' Sanchez, a redshirt sophomore, said he felt for Booty, but was ready to make his first start if called upon. ``I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel anything different at all,'' Sanchez said. ``It's a matter of having a good week of practice, prepare like I always do - be ready to play if they need me. They just said to be ready. I got a lot of reps today. ``This team is looking to bounce back. We've got to play like ourselves, play like we're capable of playing. I'm ready to perform, do whatever they need.'' After having a couple days to digest the loss, Carroll said the main factors were turnovers and execution. The Trojans committed five turnovers and forced only one against Stanford. Carroll also said tailback Stafon Johnson, offensive guard Chilo Rachal and linebacker Bruce Cushing, who all missed the Stanford game because of injuries, might return for this weekend's game against Arizona (2-4, 1-2) at the Los Angeles Coliseum. |
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