Pete Carroll couldn’t present his seniors with the perfect going-away gift, a victory at the Coliseum in their final regular-season game.

But the Trojan football coach still has the chance to send them on their way with a victory since they’ve been invited to play Boston College in the Emerald Bowl, scheduled for Dec. 26 at AT&T Park in San Francisco.

Like Boston College, USC, a 21-17 loser to Arizona Saturday, takes an 8-4 record into the game.

“There are a lot of things to look forward to with this game,” Carroll said. “We’re playing a team with a strong tradition and it looks like it’s a good matchup across the board. I know (Boston College coach) Frank Spaziani and he’s done a nice job with that program.

“Also, we get to stay in California, and that’s good for our fans, as it will be easy for them to get to the game.

“Most of all, we get to play one more game this year. We’re disappointed with the way we played the last half of this season, so the Emerald Bowl gives us a chance to finish the year on a positive note. We’ll work hard to send our seniors out in the fashion they deserve. And it’ll give our younger players some extra practice time that will pay off in the future.”

Although hopes for a BCS bowl bid were dashed long ago, Carroll isn’t worried about his team being up for this game.

“We’re going to look at our opportunity and try to maximize it,” he said following the loss to Arizona. “We had no trouble getting up for the Rose Bowl last year.”

He didn’t even blame the loss to Arizona on any emotional hangover from playing UCLA just a week earlier.

“No more so than Arizona (against Arizona State) in its last game,” he said.

Carroll chose to take the positive approach about the loss to the Wildcats, saying the future is bright for the Trojans.

“The defense has a lot coming back,” he said. “We’ve got guys coming up and guys we recruited who we are excited about. We’re most excited about the new infusion of talent.”

He expects freshman quarterback Matt Barkley to improve by leaps and bounds.

“Players make extraordinary jumps from their first year to the next. He’s a bright kid and I expect he’ll make that jump.”