ARLINGTON, Texas – The No. 10 Southern California Trojans (11-2, 8-1 Pac-12) took the field at AT&T Stadium for the first time on Wednesday in preparation for the 87th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic. The Trojans practiced for approximately 90 minutes in their first on-site bowl workout prior to facing the No. 16 Tulane Green Wave (11-2, 7-1 American Athletic Conference) on January 2.

By the time the Classic kicks off, Southern California Coach Lincoln Riley's squad will have waited a month to return to the gridiron since dropping a 42-27 decision to Utah in the Pac-12 Football Championship Game on December 2. Coach Riley says that he has addressed the extended layoff with his team and has encouraged his players to focus on the same attributes that helped the Trojans win 11 games in the regular season.

"It's always  I wouldn't say a challenge, but it's just unique that no other sport do you play games and all of a sudden have a month, you know, where you don't play a game," Coach Riley said shortly after the team's arrival on Tuesday. "And luckily, this staff has been through this before. And so I think it's been, for us, asking the team to do what they've done for the last 12 months, which is trust us and let us lay out a direction, let us lay out a path that will help them be successful, and then these guys have got to believe in it and they've got to follow it. And when we do that, we've been pretty successful."

This matchup marks the fourth meeting between Tulane and USC and the first since 1946. The Trojans hold a 2-1 advantage with wins in the 1932 (21-12) and 1946 (20-13). The Green Wave scored a 27-13 victory in the 1942 meeting. The first meeting in 1932 capped off the 1931 season as two squads squared off in the 18th Rose Bowl Game on New Year's Day.

Although the two teams have met sparingly through the years, Coach Riley is very familiar with Tulane and its outstanding program. "They're fantastic," Coach Riley said. "Honestly, I got to coach against them first game last season. So no surprise to see the job that  that they've done. Willie's [Fritz] one of the best coaches in the country. He's proved it over and over and, obviously, done a phenomenal job with the group.

"And they have got a lot of really good football players. They have got several guys on this team that are going to play on Sundays. They have got a lot of guys who have been able to play for Coach Fritz there for multiple years. And you've seen them kind of build up in their systems and become more experienced and just really seasoned players."

The 87th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic is Monday, Jan. 2 at noon CT on ESPN and ESPN Radio. Kickoff is slated for 12:10 p.m. This year's Classic is a part of the ESPN bowl lineup for the ninth straight year. Mark Jones and Robert Griffin III are set to the call the action from the booth with Quint Kessenich reporting from the sidelines.

ESPN Radio returns as the Classic's national radio partner for the ninth consecutive year with Brad Sham and Dusty Dvoracek in the booth and Taylor McGregor on the sidelines to describe all the action from AT&T Stadium.

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