Highlights from our player interviews following USC's win vs. Utah...
Cam Smith
He was sort of at a loss for words in describing his three interceptions.
"My eyes got a little big and I was like, Oh my gosh, not again, no again. Not enough words to describe the feeling. … It’s hard to wrap my head around. It’s an honor to be on this team. It’s so much fun with these guys I’m loving it right now, every moment of it."
One of the keys in his picks was awareness.
"I felt some presence of the guys in my zone and just read the quarterback’s eyes and put my hands up. I knew they were going to start throwing some balls over the middle."
He had one thing in mind while returning the interceptions.
"I had tunnel vision and I was just running as fast as I could."
He wasn’t specifically looking to intercept passes.
"I try to make the play when it’s there. The run D played awesome. The defensive line was lights out tonight. It was such a difference to play with these guys.
He believes the win could alter USC’s season.
"It’s huge for confidence. We got to build on this. We feel good again."
JuJu Smith-Schuster
The team has managed to remain upbeat despite the turmoil.
"Coach Helton preaches a lot about having fun. In my life, my No. 1 rule is have fun in everything you do. If you’re not having fun then you don’t want to do it anymore. This is something I love doing. I have a passion for football."
The team was increasingly giddy on the sideline with every Cam Smith INT.
"We were going crazy. We were going nuts. Cam Smith is so smart. He’s a freshman and he’s balling. I played against him in high school. The boy is a playmaker. I didn’t know he had the juice in him to take it to the house. It was awesome. He almost took two to the house."
Tonight was a good reminder that USC can be a great team.
"Honestly, we really don’t look at our record, we’re just looking at who’s the next team, who do we have to beat and just getting prepared. We still have a chance. We beat Utah and they’re in the South. Now we got Cal next week, which is also a good team."
USC’s performance was, in part, a reaction to what’s happened the past few weeks.
"After everything we’ve been through, the adversity with the coaches changing, losing to Washington, losing to Notre Dame, it’s really tough. To come out here knowing that Utah’s the No. 3 team — that should be us — we just had to send a message."
Cody Temple
The previous two losses had an impact on how USC played vs. Utah.
“When you do get smacked in the mouth and you do get knocked down, it’s sometimes what’s needed. But I’m not going to say that’s what the team needed. I think it was the team being a team, being there for each other and really understanding Coach Helton is here for us, we’re here for each other, we’re here for the recruits, we’re the Trojan family and we need to play like it. No individuals, no nothing. So everyone did their part, trusted in one another and played Trojan ball.”
Lamar Dawson
The players know they are better than what they’d shown coming into the game.
“We’re as good as we want to be and we know that. So, we just focus on ourselves and we just believed that we were going to win tonight. We just came out here and proved it to everybody.”
Chris Hawkins
Generating pressure on Utah’s QB was crucial for the defense.
“We were getting a lot of pressure tonight on the QB. We had good coverage on the back end, allowing the D-Line to work some of their pass rush moves. They were getting pressure today. He (Travis Wilson) was always trying to escape the pocket, he couldn’t really throw long passes. So the pressure on the quarterback made a big difference in the game.”
The defense proved what it’s capable of with this performance.
“It shows we can compete with anybody. We’re not just a hit or miss defense. We can really compete with anybody. When every level, the D-Line, the linebackers and secondary are working as one, it’s going to be hard to really put points up on us.”
The team objective is clear at this point.
“We want to play for a Pac-12 championship. Our number one goal was to win the South but we have to win all these games. Utah, we just beat them, we have Cal next. We really just need to go on a streak to where we’re beating everybody. We have to do that for us to be where we want to be.”
Cam Smith
He was sort of at a loss for words in describing his three interceptions.
"My eyes got a little big and I was like, Oh my gosh, not again, no again. Not enough words to describe the feeling. … It’s hard to wrap my head around. It’s an honor to be on this team. It’s so much fun with these guys I’m loving it right now, every moment of it."
One of the keys in his picks was awareness.
"I felt some presence of the guys in my zone and just read the quarterback’s eyes and put my hands up. I knew they were going to start throwing some balls over the middle."
He had one thing in mind while returning the interceptions.
"I had tunnel vision and I was just running as fast as I could."
He wasn’t specifically looking to intercept passes.
"I try to make the play when it’s there. The run D played awesome. The defensive line was lights out tonight. It was such a difference to play with these guys.
He believes the win could alter USC’s season.
"It’s huge for confidence. We got to build on this. We feel good again."
JuJu Smith-Schuster
The team has managed to remain upbeat despite the turmoil.
"Coach Helton preaches a lot about having fun. In my life, my No. 1 rule is have fun in everything you do. If you’re not having fun then you don’t want to do it anymore. This is something I love doing. I have a passion for football."
The team was increasingly giddy on the sideline with every Cam Smith INT.
"We were going crazy. We were going nuts. Cam Smith is so smart. He’s a freshman and he’s balling. I played against him in high school. The boy is a playmaker. I didn’t know he had the juice in him to take it to the house. It was awesome. He almost took two to the house."
Tonight was a good reminder that USC can be a great team.
"Honestly, we really don’t look at our record, we’re just looking at who’s the next team, who do we have to beat and just getting prepared. We still have a chance. We beat Utah and they’re in the South. Now we got Cal next week, which is also a good team."
USC’s performance was, in part, a reaction to what’s happened the past few weeks.
"After everything we’ve been through, the adversity with the coaches changing, losing to Washington, losing to Notre Dame, it’s really tough. To come out here knowing that Utah’s the No. 3 team — that should be us — we just had to send a message."
Cody Temple
The previous two losses had an impact on how USC played vs. Utah.
“When you do get smacked in the mouth and you do get knocked down, it’s sometimes what’s needed. But I’m not going to say that’s what the team needed. I think it was the team being a team, being there for each other and really understanding Coach Helton is here for us, we’re here for each other, we’re here for the recruits, we’re the Trojan family and we need to play like it. No individuals, no nothing. So everyone did their part, trusted in one another and played Trojan ball.”
Lamar Dawson
The players know they are better than what they’d shown coming into the game.
“We’re as good as we want to be and we know that. So, we just focus on ourselves and we just believed that we were going to win tonight. We just came out here and proved it to everybody.”
Chris Hawkins
Generating pressure on Utah’s QB was crucial for the defense.
“We were getting a lot of pressure tonight on the QB. We had good coverage on the back end, allowing the D-Line to work some of their pass rush moves. They were getting pressure today. He (Travis Wilson) was always trying to escape the pocket, he couldn’t really throw long passes. So the pressure on the quarterback made a big difference in the game.”
The defense proved what it’s capable of with this performance.
“It shows we can compete with anybody. We’re not just a hit or miss defense. We can really compete with anybody. When every level, the D-Line, the linebackers and secondary are working as one, it’s going to be hard to really put points up on us.”
The team objective is clear at this point.
“We want to play for a Pac-12 championship. Our number one goal was to win the South but we have to win all these games. Utah, we just beat them, we have Cal next. We really just need to go on a streak to where we’re beating everybody. We have to do that for us to be where we want to be.”
