... football season, the USC Trojans will try to pick up the pieces against a game Boston College Eagles team Saturday in the Emerald bowl.

For the first time in seven years, the Trojans will be participating in a non-BCS bowl game.

There is precedence for such an occasion.

Pete Carroll's first year with USC, in 2001, with the Trojans riding a five-game winning streak, lost to Utah 10-6 in the Las Vegas bowl.

The following year, Carson Palmer led the Trojans to an 11-2 record and a win over Iowa in the Orange bowl.

That year started an unprecedented seven-year run where USC both won at least 11 games each year and finished in the top four nationally.

Of course, the comparisons end there for the 2001 and 2009 v...

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