ARLINGTON, Texas – The No. 10 Southern California Trojans (11-2, 8-1 Pac-12) returned to the field on Thursday at AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys, practicing for nearly two and a half hours in preparation for the 87th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic.

USC will be looking to get back on the winning track when it takes the field against American Athletic Conference champion, the No. 16 Tulane Green Wave (11-2, 7-1 AAC) in the Classic set for Jan. 2. This will be the first time in 76 years that the Trojans have faced off against the Green Wave.

USC played Tulane in 1931, 1942 and 1946 and holds a 2-1 record. In 1931, the Trojans, under head coach Howard Jones, beat the Green Wave in the 1932 Rose Bowl to cap a national championship season.
This year's Trojans are coming off only their second loss of the season, falling to Utah 42-27 in the Pac 12 Football Championship Game. DL Tuli Tuipulotu says if USC wants to get back on the winning track it will have to play with more urgency on the defensive side of the ball.

"We've got to finish," Tuipulotu says. "Everybody preaches that, finishing. We came up short in the Pac12 Championship. I mean, we're here at the Cotton Bowl, New Year's Six game. Great bowl game, and we're blessed to be here. Yeah, we've just got to finish. Go out and play our hearts out. We can't finish the year off on a loss, though. We're going to go out there and execute and play our hardest."

DB Calen Bullock agrees with his teammate's take and says the time between games has provided a valuable opportunity to refocus after coming up short in their last time out.

"I think this last month has been really important for us, especially after our last game we played," Bullock said. "We know that's not us that we put on film. So we've just been out here trying to take it in each and every day and go out there and just execute everything the coaching staff teaches and really basically just go out there and have fun with each other."

While the focus is on its upcoming matchup with the Green Wave, the Trojans have also gotten to get a taste of Texas-style hospitality since arriving in town earlier this week. On Thursday, as players exited the field, they were greeted by various food options from another Lone Star staple - Whataburger.    

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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