Highlights from our interviews with USC players after the Trojans won a close game in chilly Boulder, CO
Su’a Cravens
On three straight comebacks and why it’s happening
“I think we grew, we grew up against against Notre Dame. When we were down in the same kind of situation, we fought back and we couldn’t quite finish and now that we got that out of our way, we know how to handle the situation, a lot of the young guys that have gotten in know how to handle that situation and we’re just executing. Today, Lamar (Dawson) and Cam (Smith) went down at MIKE and we had Boodah (Olajuwon) Tucker come in, the first time he’s played in a long time and it was like he was a starter out there.”
On if he’s an emergency safety
“I am, if a safety were to went down today, it would be me or Jon Lockett back there. But I can play though.”
On what he’s thinking when Colorado is leading 17-3
“I didn’t really even panic. I was like okay, well, let’s slow the game down, they’re doing what they want to do with the ball and they’ve made a couple big stops on defense and we made a couple big mistakes that we couldn’t afford, but keep your composure and play our game. We knew if we played our game, they wouldn’t be able to beat us. Once we got it under control, we were fine.”
More on being down against Colorado
“We weren’t really worried about it. Not to knock Colorado but we held our composure and we knew we just needed to do our job.”
On the team having a new confidence
“Yeah, I couldn’t tell you that probably week four of the season, I couldn’t tell you that going into the Notre Dame game but after that Notre Dame game we learned a lot. I think our team has grown since then and we’re learning how to finish games.”
On growing since Notre Dame
“I think we have a lot of confidence in our defense now, I think we’re really confident in the young guys on the team and a lot of the young guys are playing. As you saw, Isaiah Langley playing one-on-one coverage with (Nelson) Spruce, he’s probably one of the top receivers in the Pac-12, if not the country. So we saw a lot of these young guys get an opportunity to play.”
On the defensive personality
“I think we’re just forming a personality of we don’t give an inch and if we do, you’re going to earn it because you don’t get anything given or handed to you. If we keep playing with that hard nose attitude, we got a great chance of going undefeated in November.”
On what needs to be cleaned up versus Oregon
“We just have to get disciplined in our coverage, especially our zone drops because I know Oregon is going to want to throw the ball a lot and if they have that running game going, we’re going to be liable in pass defense because they’re going to try to air it out especially with (Darren) Carrington back there. So we just got to tighten up in the backend from the linebackers to the DBs and we’ll be okay.”
John Plattenburg
On what the defense has learned about themselves
“Really just to stay calm, no matter what the situation is, just trusting in our preparation every week but just really believing in ourselves and knowing what we’re capable of. Just staying calm, staying stable minded and stuff like and just encouraging each other.”
On what the win shows
“It shows that we got character, that’s for sure, it shows we have character and it also goes to show you can’t take anything for granted, no matter what the record is because that’s a really good team. They had great skill players and even, you know, great defense. But really just you know, take nobody for granted.”
On if they took Colorado for granted
“Not really, I really think you know it was just the rhythm, the rhythm of the offense just getting in there, getting the feel of it. The grass was real slippery for our backs and stuff and it’s hard to cut but, you know, we worked our way through and God blessed us with the win.”
On if they can afford another slow start
“I don’t think so, I hope not but that’s just something we have to continue to work on and get better at.”
Su’a Cravens
On three straight comebacks and why it’s happening
“I think we grew, we grew up against against Notre Dame. When we were down in the same kind of situation, we fought back and we couldn’t quite finish and now that we got that out of our way, we know how to handle the situation, a lot of the young guys that have gotten in know how to handle that situation and we’re just executing. Today, Lamar (Dawson) and Cam (Smith) went down at MIKE and we had Boodah (Olajuwon) Tucker come in, the first time he’s played in a long time and it was like he was a starter out there.”
On if he’s an emergency safety
“I am, if a safety were to went down today, it would be me or Jon Lockett back there. But I can play though.”
On what he’s thinking when Colorado is leading 17-3
“I didn’t really even panic. I was like okay, well, let’s slow the game down, they’re doing what they want to do with the ball and they’ve made a couple big stops on defense and we made a couple big mistakes that we couldn’t afford, but keep your composure and play our game. We knew if we played our game, they wouldn’t be able to beat us. Once we got it under control, we were fine.”
More on being down against Colorado
“We weren’t really worried about it. Not to knock Colorado but we held our composure and we knew we just needed to do our job.”
On the team having a new confidence
“Yeah, I couldn’t tell you that probably week four of the season, I couldn’t tell you that going into the Notre Dame game but after that Notre Dame game we learned a lot. I think our team has grown since then and we’re learning how to finish games.”
On growing since Notre Dame
“I think we have a lot of confidence in our defense now, I think we’re really confident in the young guys on the team and a lot of the young guys are playing. As you saw, Isaiah Langley playing one-on-one coverage with (Nelson) Spruce, he’s probably one of the top receivers in the Pac-12, if not the country. So we saw a lot of these young guys get an opportunity to play.”
On the defensive personality
“I think we’re just forming a personality of we don’t give an inch and if we do, you’re going to earn it because you don’t get anything given or handed to you. If we keep playing with that hard nose attitude, we got a great chance of going undefeated in November.”
On what needs to be cleaned up versus Oregon
“We just have to get disciplined in our coverage, especially our zone drops because I know Oregon is going to want to throw the ball a lot and if they have that running game going, we’re going to be liable in pass defense because they’re going to try to air it out especially with (Darren) Carrington back there. So we just got to tighten up in the backend from the linebackers to the DBs and we’ll be okay.”
John Plattenburg
On what the defense has learned about themselves
“Really just to stay calm, no matter what the situation is, just trusting in our preparation every week but just really believing in ourselves and knowing what we’re capable of. Just staying calm, staying stable minded and stuff like and just encouraging each other.”
On what the win shows
“It shows that we got character, that’s for sure, it shows we have character and it also goes to show you can’t take anything for granted, no matter what the record is because that’s a really good team. They had great skill players and even, you know, great defense. But really just you know, take nobody for granted.”
On if they took Colorado for granted
“Not really, I really think you know it was just the rhythm, the rhythm of the offense just getting in there, getting the feel of it. The grass was real slippery for our backs and stuff and it’s hard to cut but, you know, we worked our way through and God blessed us with the win.”
On if they can afford another slow start
“I don’t think so, I hope not but that’s just something we have to continue to work on and get better at.”
