Dec. 31, 2008

By Adam Caparell, NCAA.com - It was only natural to think that a little bit of complacency would settle into the practice fields at USC these last few weeks.

After all, USC, one of the most talented teams in the country this year, a team many penciled into the BCS Championship game before the season started, found themselves in the same bowl game for the fourth straight season, after their national title hopes had officially been extinguished.

Another year, another Rose Bowl for Pete Carroll and his embarrassment of riches that are the Trojans. As far as consolation prizes go, you could do a lot worse than the Rose Bowl, but at what point does familiarity breed contempt for the Trojans?

"Every single day we walk off the practice field, we see the Rose Bowl at the end of the tunnel, everybody knows that's what we're shooting for," Carroll said. "There's no doubt about it. We're all pumped up about this. Everything you hear contrary, you can go ahead and know that's coming from somewhere else."

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