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Although Curtis McNeal's fumble ended Southern California's triple-overtime loss to Stanford last weekend, the Trojans won't hesitate to put the ball right back in his hands.
That fumble should turn out to be no more than a footnote in the breakout season of an undersized junior who has persevered all the way to an unlikely starting job at Tailback U.
After two hard practices during the No. 21 Trojans' short week of preparation to visit Colorado on Friday night, McNeal said he has just about recovered from the devastation he felt after fumbling into the end zone to end the No. 4 Cardinal's 56-48 win.
''It took a lot away from me, especially when you're in a groove, having a good game, and then for something like that to happen,'' McNeal said Wednesday. ''It's not even just the fumble. I fumbled, and we lost. That just really hit me real hard, because we played our hearts out that game. I just know how hard my teammates work all year long in games like that, and then I fumbled at the end.''
Yet the Trojans (6-2, 3-2 Pac-12) almost certainly wouldn't have even made it to extra time without McNeal, a 5-foot-7 fireplug who scored on impressive runs of 61 and 25 yards in the second half of his 145-yard performance against Stanford - his second straight week with a career best, following a 118-yard effort at Notre Dame.
''He's our best back right now, and before that fumble, he played phenomenal,'' quarterback Matt Barkley said. ''He was really down in the locker room ... but everybody picked him up and reminded him it's not his fault we lost. He's going to get past it.''
Coach Lane Kiffin said McNeal will get his first career start against the Buffaloes - and he would have been Kiffin's choice even if starter Marc Tyler wasn't limited this week by a dislocated left shoulder. If Tyler can't play, McNeal could end up playing nearly every snap.
''He's got to move forward, and he is,'' Kiffin said, brushing over the fumble as old news. ''He's had a couple of great games in a row, so now he's got to do it again, going on the road. I've said it before, you go on the road, especially in bad weather conditions, you'd better pack your defense and your run game, and he's a critical part of that right now.''
The Trojans are perennially deep at tailback, but that depth has been seriously eroded this season.
Along with Tyler's injury problems following a season-opening suspension, touted sophomore Dillon Baxter was removed from the team to focus on academics, and converted receiver George Farmer missed last week's game with another injury. Only touted freshmen D.J. Morgan - benched for fumbling earlier this season - and Amir Carlisle are left behind McNeal.
Yet with all that turmoil around him, McNeal has been steadily improving ever since he came off the bench against Syracuse to rush for 79 yards on five carries. He added 74 yards on seven carries against Arizona last month before getting 86 yards and a touchdown against California.
McNeal wasn't fazed by learning about his first start, realizing he's been doing a starter's work for a while now.
''You've just got to stay hungry,'' McNeal said. ''Marc is a little banged up, but no matter how many carries you get, you've got to stay hungry until your number is called. I never get complacent. We always give each other pointers, helping each other out. We're basically each other's eyes on the sideline. We always encourage each other.''
McNeal's swift emergence is a bit surprising after his winding career at USC. He got just six carries as a redshirt freshman out of Venice High School in 2009, and he missed all of last season because of academic problems, losing a year of eligibility to grades.
McNeal hit the books, but he also made adjustments to his game. He's taking longer strides and creating more speed with a conscious effort to run ''more straight-up,'' compensating for his naturally bowed legs.
McNeal hasn't forgotten about his fumble, but it's getting drowned out in his mind by excitement for the Trojans' final month of the season.
''We don't play for moral victories here,'' McNeal said. ''We play for the W, and we're going to keep going for it. Things happen in life. You've just got to keep going.''
