USC defensive end Fili Moala said he wants to avoid any tears when he plays his final home game at the Coliseum today.
Former USC quarterback Matt Leinart famously cried in the locker room before his final game and then performed poorly at the start.
"I don't want to get too emotional. I won't let it get the best of me,"
Moala said. "I'm not like that. Of course it was Matt Leinart. He was the face of our team."
Moala said he still expects to feel plenty of emotion during the senior salute, when players are introduced before their last home game.
"It means a lot. I've been here five years and it feels like six,"
he said. "I don't think it will hit me until I run out for the last time. I just want to play hard for my team. I want to soak everything up. It is our last home game. I'm excited to move on and do different things. I won't rule out the possibility of dropping a couple (tears)."
Butkus finalists: USC linebackers Rey Maualuga and Brian Cushing were two of 12 players named as finalists for the Butkus Award, which goes to the nation' s top linebacker.
Also named as finalists were: Rolando McClain, Alabama; Mark Herzlich, Boston College; Brandon Spikes, Florida; Rennie Curran, Georgia; Perry Riley and Darry Beckwith, LSU; Sean WItherspoon, Missouri; James Laurinaitis, Ohio State; Clint Sintim, Virginia; Aaron Curry, Wake Forest.
Laurinaitis won the award last season.
USC commit Marquis Simmons from Dominguez High School in Compton was one of the high school finalists.
TV talk: Today's game will be broadcast on ESPN. The last time a USC-Notre Dame game from the Coliseum was not on broadcast network television was 1966 (USC lost 51-0). Before 1966, a USC-Notre Dame game at the Coliseum was nationally televised only twice: 1951 and 1964.
Staples Center parking: Fans who park at Staples Center can take a shuttle to the Coliseum for today's game. Parking costs $25 at Staples Center lot W, which is just west of the Nokia Theater across from the Staples Center . The shuttle drops off fans at the Coliseum near the intersection of Exposition Blvd. and Figueroa St. Service begins at noon and will end one hour after the game.
Clausen speaks: Quarterback Jimmy Clausen on why he selected Notre Dame: "I just wanted to get away from California. I just wanted to be away for a few years and I'll probably go live in California in the future."
Davis hired: Former USC offensive line coach Tim Davis was recently hired by the University of Minnesota. He was player personnel director at Alabama.