Trojans' Booty ready to return from injury, will start vs. Beavers

LOS ANGELES -- John David Booty has his job back.

Booty will start at quarterback Saturday night when the 13th-ranked Trojans face Oregon State. He sat out three games because of a broken middle finger on his throwing hand and was replaced by Mark Sanchez.

"We're going with John David," USC coach Pete Carroll said after practice Thursday. "It's clear he had a good, solid week. He's good to go, he's ready to play, he's had a couple of weeks off. We look for him to jump back where he left off. Mark also is ready to go."

Booty broke his finger when he hit it on a helmet in the second quarter against Stanford on Oct. 6. The fifth-year senior played on, and threw four interceptions in the second half as the 41-point underdog Cardinal rallied to upset the Trojans 24-23.

Sanchez, making the first three starts of his career, passed for 130 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions in a 20-13 victory over Arizona, 235 yards and four TDs with no interceptions in a 38-0 win at Notre Dame and 277 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions in a 24-17 loss at No. 4 Oregon on Saturday.

Carroll said the status of left tackle Sam Baker, who has an injured hamstring, is uncertain for Saturday night's game.

"Sam Baker took some snaps yesterday and today," Carroll said. "He wants to try to play, but we'll see what happens on Saturday. We're planning on Butch Lewis starting until something changes."

Oregon State (5-3, 3-2) brings a three-game winning streak at the Los Angeles Coliseum. The Beavers beat the Trojans 33-31 last season in Corvallis, Ore., to snap USC's 27-game Pac-10 winning streak.

The Trojans (6-2, 3-2) are 20-0 in November games since Carroll became their coach before the 2001 season.