The second round of highlights from our postgame interviews ...
Chris Wilson
--The freshmen are still getting better
“They’re improving and by playing, it allows them to realize how important practice is. Because the way you practice is the way you play. And so the more reps they get, the more they’re going to go out. I really like that group of guys, I like their attitudes and the ability that they have.”
--His Defensive Line responded
“They responded like Trojans, they fought and they know what a Trojan is, they know what the standard is and again, it’s only one game. But the improvement has to continue everyday.”
--Defense improved on early downs
“On first and second downs. Now it gives Coach (Justin) Wilcox a chance, if you can win those early downs and get guys into third and six, third and seven, it allows you to be better rushers. That’s the thing that stood out the most.”
--The second string players impressed
“I was impressed that they came in and they functioned but we have to improve. There can’t be a drop off when you go in. And so what that does is, by playing often, it allows you to realize how important practices really are. And so we’ll do that and give them a chance to keep growing and keep improving.”
--Replacing Antwaun Woods was a challenge but there wasn't a special strategy.
“Get your best players on the field. This aint magic, there’s no potion. You find a way to get your best players on the field and it’ll give you a chance to win. Everybody wants to make this thing bigger than what it is. Find your best players and put them in the best position to do their job. That’s my job and that’s our job as a staff.”
--They emphasized a few things this week
“We just repped it, we repped it. We made it a point of our emphasis. There’s an old saying in our business, you don’t get what you want, you get what you emphasize. And so we emphasized hopefully trying to do well on early down and then being able to generate a pass rush on late downs. And we were fortunate because that’s a good football team.”
Delvon Simmons
--The turnovers were key
“We emphasize turnovers all the time and we actually had like a little film last night when we were doing all turnovers, watching all turnovers. And I feel like that helped us a little bit. But Coach Sark is always emphasizing getting the ball, getting the ball ,and tonight we just executed well.”
--He created the fumble that lead to a 28-0 nothing lead
“Before that, I messed up a play, I busted it. So like I told the guys earlier, we have the next play mentality, so I was just like, I have to make up on my mistake last time. That play I was just focused on getting off the ball and just getting in the backfield and trying to make a play. It was a great call by Coach Wilcox and great execution.”
--Watching the scoop and score on that play was fun
“It felt good. You’re hoping you’re the one to pick it up but it was cool though, it was sweet. I was hoping that someone at least picked it up because I couldn’t pick it up but I was happy that Chris (Hawkins) picked it up and got the six points.”
Chris Hawkins
--He benefitted from a great play on his TD
“Credit to that man right there, Devon Simmons. He made a great play in the backfield. Once I saw the ball on the ground, immediately, I went to go scoop it and I got the score.”
--He wasn’t worried about the end zone
“I was tired because of the long drive we were on. So I really wasn’t thinking at the time, I was just running, hoping nobody caught me.”
--That play almost ended Arizona State’s chances
“That’s kind of heartbreaker. I feel like it broke their spirit a little bit. In the second half, it didn’t really seem like they wanted to play a lot and then they tried to turn it on at the end. But a play like that is really a heartbreaker.”
Justin Davis
--He feels okay despite leaving the game
“My knee kind of twisted. It’s a good thing I’m young right now so I’m really flexible. I feel good. Nothing’s wrong with me right now.”
--He was worried when it happened
“It was a really scary moment. I’m glad I came out with nothing hurt.”
--He felt the backfield was effective even without the numbers
“We had a really good rotation going on. They were blitzing a lot but we still found ways to help out the team whether it was pass protection on third down or check downs. I thought we did a good job.”
--The team knew they needed to respond.
“Sark was always telling us that we have to comeback harder but we already knew it. We already knew in out mind that we had to come back and win this game. I think the team took it upon themselves, everybody in the locker room, to come out hard and get this win.”
Claude Pelon
--He felt USC improved its physicality from last week,
“Got to be physical. That’s the thing that we preach as a coaching staff and as players, preach being physical off blocks. We feel like the more physical we are, the easier it is to make plays, get off blocks.”
--Practice helped him feel comfortable at nose
“Just going out there and executing at practice and just going out and being comfortable at practice made it comfortable in the game. That’s the easiest way to put it.”
Clay Helton
--Kessler performed well after his interception
“To really bounce back, secure the ball and throw five touchdowns after that, I’m really proud of him performance.”
--Kessler was very good in a particular area
“I thought he was especially good on third down tonight. I think we finished 10 of 16 or 10 of 15, somewhere in there (USC went 10 of 16). But I thought he was at his best on third down, I’m really proud of him in those situations.”
--USC won one-on-one match-ups
“Credit them, they came in and really decided they were really going to pressure us on every down. I’m proud of the offensive line for what they did in picking up those and really us winning our one-on-one match-ups. I thought we did a very good job of guys like Adoree’ Jackson and JuJu (Smith-Schuster) and Steven (Mitchell) in one-on-one coverage winning and making their plays. I thought that was the difference in the ball game. I wish we had done a little bit more of it in the second half but it was great to get out to that jump start early.”
--He was happy to call plays for Adoree' Jackson
“He’s such a special player, he’s so dynamic with the ball in his hands, I mean, you hold your breath every time he touches it and he did what he does. That’s why he came here, to be a difference maker, both defensively and offensively. We were very fortunate to have the opportunity to use him. Tonight you saw exactly what he can do with the ball in his hands.”
JuJu Smith-Schuster
--The receivers had an advantage against ASU
“Throughout the week, we talked about Arizona State playing cover four, having problems and their weakness was their safety play in the box. That’s what we took advantage of.”
--Ball distribution helped him
“To be in an environment like this where it’s really hot and your body’s not used to it, you start to feel kind of sluggish. But when you have Jalen Greene, you have Isaac Whitney, you have De’Quan Hampton, (Christian) Tober, all these other guys who can play, even Adoree’, it gives me more time to rest, knowing those guys can go in and make plays.”
--He still scored twice
“One was ASU, their defense wasn’t ready. They were trying to get the signal from their d-coordinator, the coach, and it wasn’t fast enough. We ran a fast play and the play I ran was a comeback, you run into the end zone and come back to the pylon. And I was like, dude, come on Cody, throw the ball. He threw it and it was awesome. The last one was right before the half, we had a big play. Coach said, if it’s not there, throw it out of bounds but if it’s there, take a risk and throw it to me. And what I saw was, the safety was playing inside, I attacked his inside shoulder, went back to the pylon and he threw the ball.”
Max Tuerk
--Improvement but not perfection up front.
“We played pretty well. We made a couple mistakes in the second half, Cody got hit a couple times, something we really don’t like seeing. We got a lot to work on, we have a bye week next week so we’re definitely going to work really hard next week.”
--Arizona State presented a big challenge in the trenches
“There was definitely some improvement. Arizona State was a really good d-line. They were blitzing a lot and they have really good schemes. We worked really hard during the week to kind of watch a lot of film and prepare for that. We definitely took a step forward in our preparation.”
--Pressure off the edge was common on run plays
“They brought a lot of pressure. They were brining two, three guys off the edge on almost every run play we had. They blitzed a lot. Definitely for us, it takes a lot of communication. We have to really work well together on our combination to kind of bang back on those guys coming off the edge. We worked on it a lot during the week.”
--The communication on the line is improving
“The more reps we take together, the more our communication improves. That’s the key, the reps, the practice, all that definitely helps.”
Chris Wilson
--The freshmen are still getting better
“They’re improving and by playing, it allows them to realize how important practice is. Because the way you practice is the way you play. And so the more reps they get, the more they’re going to go out. I really like that group of guys, I like their attitudes and the ability that they have.”
--His Defensive Line responded
“They responded like Trojans, they fought and they know what a Trojan is, they know what the standard is and again, it’s only one game. But the improvement has to continue everyday.”
--Defense improved on early downs
“On first and second downs. Now it gives Coach (Justin) Wilcox a chance, if you can win those early downs and get guys into third and six, third and seven, it allows you to be better rushers. That’s the thing that stood out the most.”
--The second string players impressed
“I was impressed that they came in and they functioned but we have to improve. There can’t be a drop off when you go in. And so what that does is, by playing often, it allows you to realize how important practices really are. And so we’ll do that and give them a chance to keep growing and keep improving.”
--Replacing Antwaun Woods was a challenge but there wasn't a special strategy.
“Get your best players on the field. This aint magic, there’s no potion. You find a way to get your best players on the field and it’ll give you a chance to win. Everybody wants to make this thing bigger than what it is. Find your best players and put them in the best position to do their job. That’s my job and that’s our job as a staff.”
--They emphasized a few things this week
“We just repped it, we repped it. We made it a point of our emphasis. There’s an old saying in our business, you don’t get what you want, you get what you emphasize. And so we emphasized hopefully trying to do well on early down and then being able to generate a pass rush on late downs. And we were fortunate because that’s a good football team.”
Delvon Simmons
--The turnovers were key
“We emphasize turnovers all the time and we actually had like a little film last night when we were doing all turnovers, watching all turnovers. And I feel like that helped us a little bit. But Coach Sark is always emphasizing getting the ball, getting the ball ,and tonight we just executed well.”
--He created the fumble that lead to a 28-0 nothing lead
“Before that, I messed up a play, I busted it. So like I told the guys earlier, we have the next play mentality, so I was just like, I have to make up on my mistake last time. That play I was just focused on getting off the ball and just getting in the backfield and trying to make a play. It was a great call by Coach Wilcox and great execution.”
--Watching the scoop and score on that play was fun
“It felt good. You’re hoping you’re the one to pick it up but it was cool though, it was sweet. I was hoping that someone at least picked it up because I couldn’t pick it up but I was happy that Chris (Hawkins) picked it up and got the six points.”
Chris Hawkins
--He benefitted from a great play on his TD
“Credit to that man right there, Devon Simmons. He made a great play in the backfield. Once I saw the ball on the ground, immediately, I went to go scoop it and I got the score.”
--He wasn’t worried about the end zone
“I was tired because of the long drive we were on. So I really wasn’t thinking at the time, I was just running, hoping nobody caught me.”
--That play almost ended Arizona State’s chances
“That’s kind of heartbreaker. I feel like it broke their spirit a little bit. In the second half, it didn’t really seem like they wanted to play a lot and then they tried to turn it on at the end. But a play like that is really a heartbreaker.”
Justin Davis
--He feels okay despite leaving the game
“My knee kind of twisted. It’s a good thing I’m young right now so I’m really flexible. I feel good. Nothing’s wrong with me right now.”
--He was worried when it happened
“It was a really scary moment. I’m glad I came out with nothing hurt.”
--He felt the backfield was effective even without the numbers
“We had a really good rotation going on. They were blitzing a lot but we still found ways to help out the team whether it was pass protection on third down or check downs. I thought we did a good job.”
--The team knew they needed to respond.
“Sark was always telling us that we have to comeback harder but we already knew it. We already knew in out mind that we had to come back and win this game. I think the team took it upon themselves, everybody in the locker room, to come out hard and get this win.”
Claude Pelon
--He felt USC improved its physicality from last week,
“Got to be physical. That’s the thing that we preach as a coaching staff and as players, preach being physical off blocks. We feel like the more physical we are, the easier it is to make plays, get off blocks.”
--Practice helped him feel comfortable at nose
“Just going out there and executing at practice and just going out and being comfortable at practice made it comfortable in the game. That’s the easiest way to put it.”
Clay Helton
--Kessler performed well after his interception
“To really bounce back, secure the ball and throw five touchdowns after that, I’m really proud of him performance.”
--Kessler was very good in a particular area
“I thought he was especially good on third down tonight. I think we finished 10 of 16 or 10 of 15, somewhere in there (USC went 10 of 16). But I thought he was at his best on third down, I’m really proud of him in those situations.”
--USC won one-on-one match-ups
“Credit them, they came in and really decided they were really going to pressure us on every down. I’m proud of the offensive line for what they did in picking up those and really us winning our one-on-one match-ups. I thought we did a very good job of guys like Adoree’ Jackson and JuJu (Smith-Schuster) and Steven (Mitchell) in one-on-one coverage winning and making their plays. I thought that was the difference in the ball game. I wish we had done a little bit more of it in the second half but it was great to get out to that jump start early.”
--He was happy to call plays for Adoree' Jackson
“He’s such a special player, he’s so dynamic with the ball in his hands, I mean, you hold your breath every time he touches it and he did what he does. That’s why he came here, to be a difference maker, both defensively and offensively. We were very fortunate to have the opportunity to use him. Tonight you saw exactly what he can do with the ball in his hands.”
JuJu Smith-Schuster
--The receivers had an advantage against ASU
“Throughout the week, we talked about Arizona State playing cover four, having problems and their weakness was their safety play in the box. That’s what we took advantage of.”
--Ball distribution helped him
“To be in an environment like this where it’s really hot and your body’s not used to it, you start to feel kind of sluggish. But when you have Jalen Greene, you have Isaac Whitney, you have De’Quan Hampton, (Christian) Tober, all these other guys who can play, even Adoree’, it gives me more time to rest, knowing those guys can go in and make plays.”
--He still scored twice
“One was ASU, their defense wasn’t ready. They were trying to get the signal from their d-coordinator, the coach, and it wasn’t fast enough. We ran a fast play and the play I ran was a comeback, you run into the end zone and come back to the pylon. And I was like, dude, come on Cody, throw the ball. He threw it and it was awesome. The last one was right before the half, we had a big play. Coach said, if it’s not there, throw it out of bounds but if it’s there, take a risk and throw it to me. And what I saw was, the safety was playing inside, I attacked his inside shoulder, went back to the pylon and he threw the ball.”
Max Tuerk
--Improvement but not perfection up front.
“We played pretty well. We made a couple mistakes in the second half, Cody got hit a couple times, something we really don’t like seeing. We got a lot to work on, we have a bye week next week so we’re definitely going to work really hard next week.”
--Arizona State presented a big challenge in the trenches
“There was definitely some improvement. Arizona State was a really good d-line. They were blitzing a lot and they have really good schemes. We worked really hard during the week to kind of watch a lot of film and prepare for that. We definitely took a step forward in our preparation.”
--Pressure off the edge was common on run plays
“They brought a lot of pressure. They were brining two, three guys off the edge on almost every run play we had. They blitzed a lot. Definitely for us, it takes a lot of communication. We have to really work well together on our combination to kind of bang back on those guys coming off the edge. We worked on it a lot during the week.”
--The communication on the line is improving
“The more reps we take together, the more our communication improves. That’s the key, the reps, the practice, all that definitely helps.”
