Gable talks about surgery decision

C.J. Gable did not want to do it, but, "I knew that's the way I had to do it," he said.

The sophomore tailback has decided to undergo surgery to repair his lingering groin injury (a sports hernia) and will miss the remainder of the season.

Gable had performed well this year, averaging 11 yards per carry. However, coaches called his number on only 13 running plays, even though he started USC's first two games. He ran only once against Washington State on Sept. 22 and did not play last week at Washington, which should keep him eligible for a medical redshirt.

"They didn't want me in. They were trying to save me," Gable said of the Trojan coaches. "I just didn't want to keep going and making it worse. So, I'm just going to get ready for next year, and then I won't have to deal with it anymore."

Gable should be ready for the 2008 spring practice, after he missed all of USC's offseason activity this year, because of this injury.

"This guy's a warrior competitior," coach Pete Carroll said. "He's not going to step away from this thing without regretting that he's not going to get dressed out and go to the stadium this weekend. But it's the sensible, right thing to do."