USC football: Players say they will make best of situation

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The NCAA’s official announcement won’t be made until noon Thursday, but USC players were already dealing with what are expected to be a severe sanctions. Players said they would meet with Coach Lane Kiffin and the staff in the afternoon.

A two-year bowl ban affects upperclassmen the most.

“Not being able to go to a bowl is really tough,” senior center Kristofer O’Dowd said as he arrived on campus for a 7 a.m. workout. “But we have 13 games this year and play a lot of good teams so it’s going to test our character as Trojans.”

Defensive lineman Wes Horton, a third-year sophomore, said he was disappointed because the Trojans have the talent to compete for a national title.

“It’s going to be a challenge to get everybody on the same page, but I feel like we have the right coaches to do that,” he said. “You just have to take things as they come and move on. You can’t just keep dwelling on it.”

I’ll have more later at latimes.com/sports.

-- Gary Klein