Colorado-USC Quotes
vs
Wyoming
Sep 20 (Sat)
8:15 p.m.
Colorado Head Coach Mel Tucker
General“That was a tough one for us. Give USC credit. They made more plays than we made. They have a good football team, good players and good coaches. Our guys played hard on both sides of the ball and special teams. We felt like this was a game where we could get something done on offense. We were able to move the ball. We ran the ball on our terms. We were able to be efficient throwing the football. We finished in the red zone. We didn’t turn the ball over. There were some positives there, but just a very disappointed locker room right now. Defensively, we felt like we were going to be able to get some hits on the QB, make some plays, and get off the field on third down. We weren’t able to finish and get that final stop that we needed. When you get 13 penalties for over 100 yards it is really hard to win. Every 100 yards is a TD. When we don’t turn the ball over and get takeaways, we always have a chance to win. That was the case. We have to be more disciplined. We have to have less penalties and do our jobs a lot better. I told the players and I think they can see the what type of team we can have. The goal from here on out is to find ways to get the team to perform the way we know they can perform.”
On If They Should Have Stuck With The Run Game In The Fourth Quarter
“I don’t look at it like that. I thought we called a good game. We were aggressive. They were having a hard time covering our guys. We took our shots.”
On QB Steven Montez Returning To The Game
“He seemed fine. If he wasn’t he wouldn’t have been back out there.”
On Throwing Short Of The Sticks On Fourth Down And Punting Late In The Fourth
“We were short of the sticks (on fourth down). I have to take a look and see what else was there for us. The punt late, I don’t see anything wrong with that.”
On Missed Opportunities
“We had our opportunities on both sides of the ball. We were able to get the ball out. We felt like we were going to be able to get to the quarterback and get the ball on the ground and we did. We just didn’t have enough guys there to get on it. I am not looking to make any excuses for anything. They made more plays than we made. We had our opportunities and weren’t able to get it done. That is the story of it.”
On WR Laviska Shenault Jr.
“I have to give him credit. He has fought through some injuries. He has done a really good job trying to get back. He is getting healthier and healthier as we go. He is an outstanding player. He can make some plays. We worked to get him the ball the best we could. He will continue to make plays for us.”
On CB K.J. Trujillo
“He has been working really hard. He pays attention and is very coachable. He has a lot of pride. He wants to be good player and wants to be productive and dependable. He works really hard every day on his game. He has continued to get better. We felt that going into the game we could cover these guys. We had some coverages that we mixed and had some pressures that we threw at them. I am really pleased with his progress so far.”
On The Defense
“We have been working really hard to eliminate some of the explosive gains in the passing game. We are starting to get some guys back healthy. The scores haven’t reflected it, but I really feel in the past couple of weeks that we are seeing some positive signs on defense with some of our guys. Our younger guys are playing better and playing with better confidence. Coming off of last week, we thought we were able to get some pressure on the quarterback with some of our pressure coverages. That was the case tonight as well. We had a lead and we weren’t able to finish. It comes down to execution. They have some good players over there. That is probably the best group of receivers that we will see. Some of those plays that they made was good execution on their part and poor execution on our part.”
On Building On The Positives From Tonight
“We talked about that in the locker room after the game. I said, ‘Look, you can look at this two different ways. You can sit there and feel sorry for yourself. Or you can look at yourself and say look at the type of team that we can have.’ If you take care of the ball, take it away, run the ball, finish in the red zone, stop the run, and get off the field on third down then you have a really good chance to beat anybody. I told them I believe in them and believe in this football team and that we can get the job done. Our coaches have done a really good job of being very steady and consistent with our players and never making excuses. Keep putting pressure on our guys to get better. Whether they are older guys or our freshman, putting pressure on guys day in and day out and pushing them to get better. I felt really good coming into this game because our week of preparation may have been the best we had all season. That is a credit to the character of our coaching staff and to our players. There was never a doubt in our mind coming into this game that we could win this game. Even all the way to the end we felt like we could make a play. We are going to have to build on the positives from this game. We are going to build on the positives and then we are going to eliminate the negatives.”
On QB Steven Montez
“It is not the first time he has played like that this year. He has played a lot of good football for us. We had a tough stretch but, like I’ve said before, I feel like he is a good player. We have to help to play better around him. He had to make some better decisions. I have a lot of confidence in him. He works really hard. It is important to him and he cares. He is becoming a leader for us. I have a lot of respect for Steven for the way he has hung in there and handled himself. I thought he had a strong performance tonight.”
On The Remaining Schedule
“There is not a team on our schedule that we can’t beat and there is not a team on our schedule that can’t beat us. We are going to ride with the guys we have. We are going to get them better and get ready to take this show on the road. I’m not sure how many players are lining up to play us right now.”
On The Remaining Schedule
“There is not a team on our schedule that we can’t beat and there is not a team on our schedule that can’t beat us. We are going to ride with the guys we have. We are going to get them better and get ready to take this show on the road. I’m not sure how many players are lining up to play us right now.”
USC Head Coach Clay Helton
General
“Glory to God, we have a bunch of great kids and that was a great college football game tonight. We knew walking in here that Colorado plays great ball at their place, you’re looking at a team that was averaging 35 points a game every time they play at home with a great stadium and a great fan base. A hard, hard day and a hard-fought day. I couldn’t be more proud of every man that is in that room; to walk in at halftime one score down and say ‘guys all we have to do is our job, keep fighting, take a deep breath, be poised and you’ll walk away as winners’. Literally those kids fought and fought all the way to the last second. Special plays made by Ken after a young mistake, came back and played like a dang pro.”
On How Meaningful The First Road Win Is To The Team
“Very, for the future and now. They kept saying in there that this is our opportunity at a championship, and we needed this game to still be able to control our own destiny -- on the road and in a tough environment with a team that has been playing some really good football. So just to walk out of here still on top of the Pac-12 South is special.”
On What He Was Thinking When USC Almost Turned It Over Late In The Fourth
“Sometimes the ball bounces your way and sometimes it hasn’t done that for us this year. Tonight, it did and the good Lord was watching over the Trojans tonight. But there were so many other positive plays that were made, that was just one of them that we needed, and luck was on our side there.”
On The Team Having Depth On Defense
“I tell you the amount of people that we had down and for these kids to step up and find a way to win, there are a lot of folks back at home: Stephen Carr, EA, Christian Rector, Drake Jackson man after man after man. But the men that were in that locker room and dressed out and went out and played found a way and that is all you can ask for as a coach. It is that type of effort and that type of resiliency, I love those kids, it was just neat to see them celebrating in there. It is a special bunch.”
On How Their Defense Kept Up
“I give credit to their offense, they are a damn good offense and they have great receivers. When Steven is playing, when he is hot, he is as hard as anybody. He played great ball tonight even after having to leave for a little bit and coming back in and fighting. Credit to them and credit to Mel. I thought that he had his kids ready to play and offensively they were rolling. But at the end of the day you find a way to get that stop when it is needed the most and it wasn’t just one, it was a couple in that fourth quarter. We had to make some punts after being backed up, the defense had to get us the ball back and they did.”
On How Kendon Slovis Played
“Anytime that you throw for over 400 yards, that type of consistency, we will take it any day.”
On What The Turning Point Was In The Game
“I really felt when the defense came together. We were having some issues keeping Steven contained, he was breaking the pocket. We knew how he was dangerous once he got outside the box. I thought we did a little bit better job in the second half of not only keeping him back there but forcing the throw to come out on time. But also slowing down the run game, that was really rolling in the first half. I think that the biggest factor was the third down efficiency in the second half, especially on third downs. We found ways to get stops and get off the field. I think that was a critical step for us to be able to get balls back offensively.”
On Being Able To Hold On To Win It
“College football is hard, and Pac-12 games on the road are hard. To be on a Friday night, with that type of electricity and that type of environment man we had a bunch of fun out there. This is something that builds teams and builds families and makes you stronger. To be able to overcome those situations, we may be in that same situation later on in the season, now these guys have the confidence to get the job done.”
On Colorado’s Decision To Punt On Their Last Possession
“They had done a really good job in the kicking game. I thought, especially with the punter, they have been pinning us within the 15-yard line. Mel’s a defensive guy and trusts his defense. So to pin us deep and tell us that we have to go the entire way was the right call because I thought our offense was moving and you got to make a decision right there – are you going to punt it from the 50 or give it to us on the 50 only down three. So, I think it was the right decision.”
On What Kendon Proved To Him In The Fourth Quarter
“I think it defines him, you will go back and look at one play and it is the definition of who he is. They brought all out pressure on the third down of the last drive, and he had to believe on this guy on the sideline and he let it go while getting hit. He stepped right into it and gets ear-holed but delivers the ball on time, accurately with unbelievable poise. I’m not trying to blow his head up but even me and Graham were sitting there going ‘wow that is a big-time play’. But that is who he is, in the brightest moments and when its time to show immense poise in a situation he is done.”
On The Impact Of Rarely Running The Ball
“If you look at the first couple of drives, the first drive all five wides were empty and we were using Amon-Ra as the extra back, he is a tremendous runner. It’s a wrinkle that I thought was really, really intuitive by Graham to put it in this week. It is something that I thought the kids fed off-of and was looking forward to. Then to walk in there and go right down the field on the first one, it was a successful package for us tonight and something anytime that you put those five horses on the field that is a dangerous thing. And Keaton did a nice job, the kids did a nice job of executing it after a week of prep.”
Colorado Players
WR K.D. Nixon
ON INITIAL FEELINGS AFFTER THE GAME: “I definitely don't like losing. But also, this one did hurt because we were at home; we never beat USC. This was the time, we just let it slip away.”
ON THE OFFENSE CLICKING: “It just took a little communication, you know we talk, we watch more film together we stay down stay true never got mad. And it's crazy because that's good for you all but we know we can be way better. And that's what we trying to get to. So, we're going to go back to work you know we will put it behind us and use the 24 hour rule. Trust me I hate to lose, but it's college football you got to wake up tomorrow and get back to where you're watching and correct yourself, go back to work, get ready for UCLA.”
ON BUILDING OFF THIS LOSS: “I’m going to go home and watch film all night. I criticize myself hard. I feel like I should do way better than three for 30. I feel like I'm a playmaker so I'm just hard on myself. Also you say, it is better fix these type of games, because these games you see the little mistake.”
ON WHAT HE WANTED TO IMPROVE ON THIS GAME- “I treat every game like it’s my last play. So, I get them all you know watch film I watched them with you I'm blocking I'm doing everything they tell me to do.”
ON THE OFFENSE CLICKING: “It just took a little communication, you know we talk, we watch more film together we stay down stay true never got mad. And it's crazy because that's good for you all but we know we can be way better. And that's what we trying to get to. So, we're going to go back to work you know we will put it behind us and use the 24 hour rule. Trust me I hate to lose, but it's college football you got to wake up tomorrow and get back to where you're watching and correct yourself, go back to work, get ready for UCLA.”
ON BUILDING OFF THIS LOSS: “I’m going to go home and watch film all night. I criticize myself hard. I feel like I should do way better than three for 30. I feel like I'm a playmaker so I'm just hard on myself. Also you say, it is better fix these type of games, because these games you see the little mistake.”
ON WHAT HE WANTED TO IMPROVE ON THIS GAME- “I treat every game like it’s my last play. So, I get them all you know watch film I watched them with you I'm blocking I'm doing everything they tell me to do.”
OL Davion Taylor
ON JK TRUJILLO STEPPING UP: “He was one of the best receivers in this conference. I think he is getting better every week and it showed.”
ON THE IMPROVED DEFENSE: “It all came down to the calls. We just tried to play fast and to the best of our abilities.”
ON WHAT THE GAME PLAN WAS TONIGHT: “Yeah, well, I'm just going to do my job and keep the ball away from me. I try to run to make a play. The plays were solid, it was mostly covered because of the quarterback. So it was hard for me to make a lot of plays but like the main thing for me was to be happy for my teammates when they made them,”
ON THE EMOTIONAL LOSS THIS WEEK: “Every loss hurts. I feel like this will hurt a lot just because it was a home game and a night game and it was on ESPN. We really had them (USC) down to the wire. It was just defense that gave up one big play.”
ON IF THIS LOSS FELT DIFFERENT: “This team was one of those teams that we felt like when we came out, and came out 100 percent we went out and played our butt off. And it showed right until the end.”
ON BEING ON THE ROAD NEXT WEEK: “It helps to have the extra day because it gives us a lot more time. We got a short week this week so, it was kind of hard for us. So having this this today, gives us time to recover. And I will be prepared for next week, and then I will just watch the film.
ON DEFENDING POTENTIAL NFL PLAYERS: “The route that they play, they catch, they focus on the ball, they run the right routes they’re supposed to run. When they fall they fall forwards and not backwards and that’s going to make them successful in this league and in the next.”
ON WHAT THE GAME PLAN WAS TONIGHT: “Yeah, well, I'm just going to do my job and keep the ball away from me. I try to run to make a play. The plays were solid, it was mostly covered because of the quarterback. So it was hard for me to make a lot of plays but like the main thing for me was to be happy for my teammates when they made them,”
ON THE EMOTIONAL LOSS THIS WEEK: “Every loss hurts. I feel like this will hurt a lot just because it was a home game and a night game and it was on ESPN. We really had them (USC) down to the wire. It was just defense that gave up one big play.”
ON IF THIS LOSS FELT DIFFERENT: “This team was one of those teams that we felt like when we came out, and came out 100 percent we went out and played our butt off. And it showed right until the end.”
ON BEING ON THE ROAD NEXT WEEK: “It helps to have the extra day because it gives us a lot more time. We got a short week this week so, it was kind of hard for us. So having this this today, gives us time to recover. And I will be prepared for next week, and then I will just watch the film.
ON DEFENDING POTENTIAL NFL PLAYERS: “The route that they play, they catch, they focus on the ball, they run the right routes they’re supposed to run. When they fall they fall forwards and not backwards and that’s going to make them successful in this league and in the next.”
LB Nate Landman
ON HOW THIS LOSS WAS DIFFERENT THAN OTHERS: “I'm proud of the way we fought. Given the score and how it ended. I'm just ready to look at the film learn and move on, but I'm definitely proud of how this team played and how we kept fighting until the end.”
ON SACKS AND INTERCEPTIONS: “KJ has been doing great. He's a solid player and he's here for a reason. He's here to play and he's been improving in practice and it showed up out there on the field.”
ON HOW THEY KEPT THE PLAY IN FRONT OF THEM: “As a defense, primarily, you want to stop the run first and then limit explosive plays, and I think we did a good job of doing both those tonight. At the end of the day just made more plays than us and that's just how it fell.”
ON GOING INTO NEXT WEEK: “We have a 24-hour rule and we're going to go look at that film and learn. We take all losses the same, as learning experiences. I think we did a better job this week than we did last week and we just want to continue on that trend to keep getting better every week.”
ON HOW USC ATTACKED THE BALL: “We knew they were going to do it early on, but we didn't think they were going to continue to attack that way. We made some good adjustments on the sideline and we made it interesting in the second half and we got after them. I trust our game plan and our coaches, and I think it worked pretty well.”
ON SACKS AND INTERCEPTIONS: “KJ has been doing great. He's a solid player and he's here for a reason. He's here to play and he's been improving in practice and it showed up out there on the field.”
ON HOW THEY KEPT THE PLAY IN FRONT OF THEM: “As a defense, primarily, you want to stop the run first and then limit explosive plays, and I think we did a good job of doing both those tonight. At the end of the day just made more plays than us and that's just how it fell.”
ON GOING INTO NEXT WEEK: “We have a 24-hour rule and we're going to go look at that film and learn. We take all losses the same, as learning experiences. I think we did a better job this week than we did last week and we just want to continue on that trend to keep getting better every week.”
ON HOW USC ATTACKED THE BALL: “We knew they were going to do it early on, but we didn't think they were going to continue to attack that way. We made some good adjustments on the sideline and we made it interesting in the second half and we got after them. I trust our game plan and our coaches, and I think it worked pretty well.”
TB Alex Fontenot
ON IF THE TEAM HAS A MINDSET TO WIN FROM NOW ON-
“Yeah, I think we always had the mindset that we can win any game, where we win against anybody we line up against. It's not really a mental thing is an execution thing.”
“Yeah, I think we always had the mindset that we can win any game, where we win against anybody we line up against. It's not really a mental thing is an execution thing.”
QB Steven Montez
ON IF THERE WERE GOOD FEELINGS WHILE PLAYING-“I mean yeah I'm not real big into moral victories you're kind of right there but, I think we did some positive things, some things that we can definitely build on in the future, but I mean we just have to do a little bit more and get it done. That's just plain and simple that's what it is, just got to do a little bit more and get it done.”
ON HIS MID-GAME INJURY- “I don't really remember the play too much. I went and kind of rolled. And then I remember kind of just being tackled going down. And then I just kind of remember people standing around me, but I went in, I went and went to go get checked out in the in the training room. And I like passed the concussion protocol test. And so they're just like, all right, you’re good, if it gets any worse, let us know and we'll check you again but I was just like, I have to get back out there is this crunch time right here. I can’t be sitting in the training room so I tried to go finish the game.”
ON THE GAMEPLAN WHEN THE OFFENSE IS WORKING-“Just come back and just stick to our reads, I mean it doesn't matter what time of the game they score. I mean, we just got to stick to what the read tells us and what their defense is telling us and just take what they give us. And we try to take it in, but we just came up just a little bit short. And that's what they talk about game, football is a game of inches and I mean we just we just needed a few more inches. That's really what it was.”
ON THE PENALTIES AFFECTING HIS RHYTHM-“Yeah, I mean it's tough penalties definitely kill your momentum on a drive for sure, but I mean I definitely think that we have the potential to clean those up and be a very good offense, very prolific. And that I think that'll help us as a team all together because you take those penalties away then we're scoring more points, we're having better drives where we're switching fill position up. I think those penalties are huge we just got to clean them up, just got to be a little bit more focused.”
ON LAVISKA SHENAULT AND THE OFFENSE-“They were playing a lot of man coverage on him, and anybody that knows anything about Laviska, man coverage is not for Laviska because he will tear you apart. So, they were playing a lot of man on Laviska we're kind of using it and then they ended up switching and going to cover, to a lot more cloud, that’s kind of how they got to trick us up a little bit, because we had to kind of figure out what they were doing exactly and how we were going to combat it. So, you know, with Laviska and the run game going offensively, it was pretty good for a while there but yeah it was a really good job getting to 31.”
ON THE OFFENSE GOING SILENT-“I think it was a little bit more of that cover two stuff they started. They were bringing a ton of pressure and playing man, and that's when we were kind of shredding them a little bit, but they kind of dropped into some zone stuff and kind of just made us be patient and take what is given. And we were doing those things, but we just want to pick up a whole lot of yardage on it, and they kind of just kept everything in front of them and then tackled and they just got us in four down situations, just didn't get enough to pick up first downs.”
ON BEING CRITICIZED-I mean, it comes with the position. If you don't want to be criticized, don't play quarterback. It's that simple. Take those criticisms. I mean get better from them, ignore them, whatever you want to do with them, but I'm just got to come back come out and just play clean football kind of like we did it in.”
ON THE OFFENSIVE LINE STRUGGLING-“It's the defense kind of, they do like these little stem calls, where they're in a certain front and one of the linebackers will say ‘move’ really loud and just drastic, and everybody will shift. I mean, if you ever played a line before and you're sitting up there and you're about to run full force into a dude. I mean, it's kind of hard holding your water, especially when people are yelling ‘move’ or whatever and shift and all that stuff so it gets tough, but I think we definitely just need to just lock down focus and hold our water a little bit better and I think we'll be in good shape.”
ON THE LAST PLAY OF THE GAME-“I mean, I kind of just saw Alex out leverage everybody. And I knew it was fourth and five so it was kind of right on the meeting of being fourth and shorter, fourth and medium kind of. And I just thought that I was going to go get it is what I was thinking. I saw him out leverage everybody I gave it to him. He made one guy miss and then, to be honest, when I saw him go down to the ground, I thought he got it.”
ON HIS MID-GAME INJURY- “I don't really remember the play too much. I went and kind of rolled. And then I remember kind of just being tackled going down. And then I just kind of remember people standing around me, but I went in, I went and went to go get checked out in the in the training room. And I like passed the concussion protocol test. And so they're just like, all right, you’re good, if it gets any worse, let us know and we'll check you again but I was just like, I have to get back out there is this crunch time right here. I can’t be sitting in the training room so I tried to go finish the game.”
ON THE GAMEPLAN WHEN THE OFFENSE IS WORKING-“Just come back and just stick to our reads, I mean it doesn't matter what time of the game they score. I mean, we just got to stick to what the read tells us and what their defense is telling us and just take what they give us. And we try to take it in, but we just came up just a little bit short. And that's what they talk about game, football is a game of inches and I mean we just we just needed a few more inches. That's really what it was.”
ON THE PENALTIES AFFECTING HIS RHYTHM-“Yeah, I mean it's tough penalties definitely kill your momentum on a drive for sure, but I mean I definitely think that we have the potential to clean those up and be a very good offense, very prolific. And that I think that'll help us as a team all together because you take those penalties away then we're scoring more points, we're having better drives where we're switching fill position up. I think those penalties are huge we just got to clean them up, just got to be a little bit more focused.”
ON LAVISKA SHENAULT AND THE OFFENSE-“They were playing a lot of man coverage on him, and anybody that knows anything about Laviska, man coverage is not for Laviska because he will tear you apart. So, they were playing a lot of man on Laviska we're kind of using it and then they ended up switching and going to cover, to a lot more cloud, that’s kind of how they got to trick us up a little bit, because we had to kind of figure out what they were doing exactly and how we were going to combat it. So, you know, with Laviska and the run game going offensively, it was pretty good for a while there but yeah it was a really good job getting to 31.”
ON THE OFFENSE GOING SILENT-“I think it was a little bit more of that cover two stuff they started. They were bringing a ton of pressure and playing man, and that's when we were kind of shredding them a little bit, but they kind of dropped into some zone stuff and kind of just made us be patient and take what is given. And we were doing those things, but we just want to pick up a whole lot of yardage on it, and they kind of just kept everything in front of them and then tackled and they just got us in four down situations, just didn't get enough to pick up first downs.”
ON BEING CRITICIZED-I mean, it comes with the position. If you don't want to be criticized, don't play quarterback. It's that simple. Take those criticisms. I mean get better from them, ignore them, whatever you want to do with them, but I'm just got to come back come out and just play clean football kind of like we did it in.”
ON THE OFFENSIVE LINE STRUGGLING-“It's the defense kind of, they do like these little stem calls, where they're in a certain front and one of the linebackers will say ‘move’ really loud and just drastic, and everybody will shift. I mean, if you ever played a line before and you're sitting up there and you're about to run full force into a dude. I mean, it's kind of hard holding your water, especially when people are yelling ‘move’ or whatever and shift and all that stuff so it gets tough, but I think we definitely just need to just lock down focus and hold our water a little bit better and I think we'll be in good shape.”
ON THE LAST PLAY OF THE GAME-“I mean, I kind of just saw Alex out leverage everybody. And I knew it was fourth and five so it was kind of right on the meeting of being fourth and shorter, fourth and medium kind of. And I just thought that I was going to go get it is what I was thinking. I saw him out leverage everybody I gave it to him. He made one guy miss and then, to be honest, when I saw him go down to the ground, I thought he got it.”
CB K.J. Trujillo
ON IF THIS WAS ONE OF THE DEFENSE’S BEST GAMES-“Oh yeah, definitely, I think, in the first half, we executed really well, we had a lot of three and outs, a turnover, just a lot of big plays all around, Our D-line and linebackers put a lot of pressure on the quarterback and the secondary to execute their jobs, make it easy in the first half, I think we executed really well.”
ON HIS INCREASED PLAYING TIME-“So you know coach Tucker always says next man up. Practice was a grind and getting after it. I have to go against K.D., Laviska, Tony Brown, all the receivers that we got have been preparing as well. So when we do get the chance, we're prepared, we're prepared and we're ready to get in there and then just being able to have some experience has been building confidence, and you know I got some great players around me on defense, which helps me a lot.”
ON HIS INCREASED PLAYING TIME-“So you know coach Tucker always says next man up. Practice was a grind and getting after it. I have to go against K.D., Laviska, Tony Brown, all the receivers that we got have been preparing as well. So when we do get the chance, we're prepared, we're prepared and we're ready to get in there and then just being able to have some experience has been building confidence, and you know I got some great players around me on defense, which helps me a lot.”
S Mikial Onu
ON THE LOSS-“The biggest thing is we don’t want to be comfortable with losing. No matter the point differential, losing sucks. I felt like we played hard. We did some good things on D. Offense looked great. We have to stop people, especially towards the end. We just have to be better. This one hurts for sure, but we will respond next week and be ready.”
ON TAKEAWAYS-“They did some good things. Credit to them. They made some plays and made more plays than we did. They capitalized on plays. When we get takeaway opportunities, we have to take advantage. I felt like we didn’t do that today. We got the ball on the ground and the in the air multiple times and we didn’t capitalize on it. We will work on that. That is the biggest thing. We have to capitalize on takeaways. Early in the game we were taking the ball away and making plays. Later in the game we missed some opportunities. We have to work on that.”
ON CB K.J. TRUJILLO-“The biggest thing with K.J. is he is a very mature guy. He is one of the most mature 18-year olds I have ever seen. He is much more mature than I was at his age. He comes in everyday, works and asks questions. He is really smart. He is not a guy that is going to have a lot of busts. He communicates and does all the right things. I am proud of the way he played. He will tell you he can do better. I can be better and we all can be better. For a young guy coming out like that he had a really impressive game. It is just the beginning for him. He has a really bright future. He knows that.”
ON HAVING AN EXTRA DAY TO PREPARE FOR UCLA-“I'm not sure how many injuries we have, but that's the biggest thing that comes away with having a short week into a longer week, getting guys healthier. It means just a bigger chance to watch film on the next opponent and get an extra day. That always helps. We've got to play better. Coming off a short week or a long week doesn’t matter. We came off a long week a couple weeks ago and got our butts whipped. You just have to come out and be ready.”
ON USC’S RECEIVERS-“They had a pretty good game. They did some good things with the ball in their hands. They had a lot of YAC (yards after catch) today. Part of that is our fault. We have to tackle better. They had a game plan and played well.”
ON IF THEY WERE CAUGHT OFF GUARD ON DEFENSE-“Not at all. They came out in empty and five wide early. We kind of expected that. We came out and made some adjustments and played empty a little bit better. They were pretty true to their game plan and true to their identity. They spread the ball out to their receivers. They executed their game plan better than we did. We just have to try to get better.”
ON TAKEAWAYS-“They did some good things. Credit to them. They made some plays and made more plays than we did. They capitalized on plays. When we get takeaway opportunities, we have to take advantage. I felt like we didn’t do that today. We got the ball on the ground and the in the air multiple times and we didn’t capitalize on it. We will work on that. That is the biggest thing. We have to capitalize on takeaways. Early in the game we were taking the ball away and making plays. Later in the game we missed some opportunities. We have to work on that.”
ON CB K.J. TRUJILLO-“The biggest thing with K.J. is he is a very mature guy. He is one of the most mature 18-year olds I have ever seen. He is much more mature than I was at his age. He comes in everyday, works and asks questions. He is really smart. He is not a guy that is going to have a lot of busts. He communicates and does all the right things. I am proud of the way he played. He will tell you he can do better. I can be better and we all can be better. For a young guy coming out like that he had a really impressive game. It is just the beginning for him. He has a really bright future. He knows that.”
ON HAVING AN EXTRA DAY TO PREPARE FOR UCLA-“I'm not sure how many injuries we have, but that's the biggest thing that comes away with having a short week into a longer week, getting guys healthier. It means just a bigger chance to watch film on the next opponent and get an extra day. That always helps. We've got to play better. Coming off a short week or a long week doesn’t matter. We came off a long week a couple weeks ago and got our butts whipped. You just have to come out and be ready.”
ON USC’S RECEIVERS-“They had a pretty good game. They did some good things with the ball in their hands. They had a lot of YAC (yards after catch) today. Part of that is our fault. We have to tackle better. They had a game plan and played well.”
ON IF THEY WERE CAUGHT OFF GUARD ON DEFENSE-“Not at all. They came out in empty and five wide early. We kind of expected that. We came out and made some adjustments and played empty a little bit better. They were pretty true to their game plan and true to their identity. They spread the ball out to their receivers. They executed their game plan better than we did. We just have to try to get better.”
USC Players
RB Kenan Christon
ON FIRST CAREER START-“It feels great. The older guys have supported me a lot and I took it all in and played my heart out. Playing a full game taught me how to pace myself. It showed me much it’s going to take to play a full game instead of a half.”ON SWING PASS TOUCHDOWN-“We went through it a lot in practice so it was pretty easy to run it in the game.”
SLB Hunter Echols
ON TEAM VICTORY-“I always go on the field and have fun with my teammates. We put on a show for the fans, had fun, played together and fought together.”ON TEAM’S DEFENSIVE STRUGGLES-“Credit to Colorado, hopefully they do well the rest of the season. It was nothing they did that hurt us, we were hurting ourselves. We cleaned it up and corrected our mistakes and we got the job done.”
ON FOURTH QUARTER DEFENSIVE IMPROVEMENTS-“Truthfully, it’s hard to breathe in Colorado. Finally, we got adjusted to the altitude and the atmosphere and we started to feel good and get a flow of the game.”
ON BEING A TEAM MOTIVATOR-“I love to motivate my team because I love my teammates and coaches. We don’t have a lot of fan motivation or energy on the road, but I just love to give my team juice. Shout out to Trojan Nation they helped us get a great road win.”
ON HITTING COLORADO QB STEVEN MONTEZ-“I’m not a dirty player. I don’t intend to do anything dirty so if that was a dirty hit I apologize. I’m just out here playing for my team.”