Experience Trojan football in this special inside report from the locker room and on the sidelines before, during and after USC's 27-6 victory against Washington State on Saturday at the Coliseum:
In Carroll's words
What Coach Carroll told the team at various points through the night:
- Right after arriving at the Coliseum, while standing at the top of the steps before descending down onto the field: "Before we take this first step, let's appreciate what we get to do."
- Standing on the 50-yard line right after first coming onto the field: "Let's play together as one from beginning to end and all night long."
- Walking around in the locker room before the game, talking to no one in particular: "From the very first play, don't give them anything! Absolutely nothing!"
- At halftime: "Let's play great, clean football. Enough mistakes. Let's go celebrate one more half of football!"
Before it all
Sights and sounds in the locker room before kickoff:
- The players were quiet at first, but the noise rose as the clock ticked down toward kickoff.
- While getting fired up just before leaving the locker room, the players created a new chant that mixed some sort of tribal rain dance with the White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army," with the bass provided by players who were banging their helmets against the lockers.
- Ken Norton Jr. while walking around the locker room: "We're in the Coliseum tonight! Make them feel you!"
- While the players alternated between humming and singing "Seven Nation Army," Coach Carroll delivered his pre-game speech in a freestyle rap amidst the tune. "Let's play real good football all night! Stay together! Give everything we got!"
What's in a name: The onside kick
USC's first-quarter onside kick was born during midweek meetings and practices, when special teams coordinator Brian Schneider noticed a tendency in Washington State's kickoff return unit that would allow for such a sneak attack.
And the name for the trick play? Dickey Pearce.
Schneider dubbed the play after the man who's widely credited for inventing the bunt in baseball, because kicker Jake Harfman's onside kick resembled a short little bunt down the third-base line.
On the sidelines
Seen and heard on the sidelines during the game:
- When Washington State missed a last-second field goal at the end of the first half, the USC sideline erupted. It was like the Trojans had scored -- instead of the Cougars not scoring -- and the players proceeded to essentially levitate up the tunnel for halftime thanks to a renewed energy.
- Linebacker Jarvis Jones, who shares the No. 10 with fullback D.J. Shoemate, had to don a pullover No. 51 jersey for the kickoff coverage team since both he and Shoemate were on the same unit.
- After defensive lineman Jurrell Casey recovered a fumble in the fourth quarter, he ran over to the sidelines and presented the ball to Coach Carroll like it was a Christmas gift from under the tree. Carroll smiled and laughed and said he would like one more turnover before the night was over.
- During a TV timeout in the fourth quarter, referees deemed the two-toned cardinal-and-gold sleeves of tailback Curtis McNeal to be noncompliant for the team's uniform, so tight ends coach Brennan Carroll hastily cut them off on the field with scissors from an athletic trainer.
Soaking in the victory
In the locker room after the game, Coach Carroll understandably had both good and bad things to say about the 27-6 victory on Saturday night.
"Coming back to the Coliseum and getting a win is always awesome," he said, with the players surrounding him. "There was a lot of cool stuff tonight, but there are a lot of things we need to fix.
"But we can't fix this game -- we've got to fix it for the next one."
Carroll then brought up the penalty issue -- 13 for 115 yards -- that afflicted the Trojans for the second straight game.
"We aren't playing good football when we have that many penalties," Carroll said. "That has to get out of here because it clouds everything we do.
"We have a lot of stuff to talk about on Monday, but let's celebrate this win tonight."
The Trojans, now 3-1 on the season, then sang the fight song to commemorate the victory, the first time they've done so since belting out "Fight on!" in the cramped visitors' locker room at Ohio Stadium two weeks ago.
A win -- no matter how messy -- counts as a win, and it sure feels good to get back on track.
In Carroll's words
What Coach Carroll told the team at various points through the night:
- Right after arriving at the Coliseum, while standing at the top of the steps before descending down onto the field: "Before we take this first step, let's appreciate what we get to do."
- Standing on the 50-yard line right after first coming onto the field: "Let's play together as one from beginning to end and all night long."
- Walking around in the locker room before the game, talking to no one in particular: "From the very first play, don't give them anything! Absolutely nothing!"
- At halftime: "Let's play great, clean football. Enough mistakes. Let's go celebrate one more half of football!"
Before it all
Sights and sounds in the locker room before kickoff:
- The players were quiet at first, but the noise rose as the clock ticked down toward kickoff.
- While getting fired up just before leaving the locker room, the players created a new chant that mixed some sort of tribal rain dance with the White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army," with the bass provided by players who were banging their helmets against the lockers.
- Ken Norton Jr. while walking around the locker room: "We're in the Coliseum tonight! Make them feel you!"
- While the players alternated between humming and singing "Seven Nation Army," Coach Carroll delivered his pre-game speech in a freestyle rap amidst the tune. "Let's play real good football all night! Stay together! Give everything we got!"
What's in a name: The onside kick
USC's first-quarter onside kick was born during midweek meetings and practices, when special teams coordinator Brian Schneider noticed a tendency in Washington State's kickoff return unit that would allow for such a sneak attack.
And the name for the trick play? Dickey Pearce.
Schneider dubbed the play after the man who's widely credited for inventing the bunt in baseball, because kicker Jake Harfman's onside kick resembled a short little bunt down the third-base line.
On the sidelines
Seen and heard on the sidelines during the game:- When Washington State missed a last-second field goal at the end of the first half, the USC sideline erupted. It was like the Trojans had scored -- instead of the Cougars not scoring -- and the players proceeded to essentially levitate up the tunnel for halftime thanks to a renewed energy.
- Linebacker Jarvis Jones, who shares the No. 10 with fullback D.J. Shoemate, had to don a pullover No. 51 jersey for the kickoff coverage team since both he and Shoemate were on the same unit.
- After defensive lineman Jurrell Casey recovered a fumble in the fourth quarter, he ran over to the sidelines and presented the ball to Coach Carroll like it was a Christmas gift from under the tree. Carroll smiled and laughed and said he would like one more turnover before the night was over.
- During a TV timeout in the fourth quarter, referees deemed the two-toned cardinal-and-gold sleeves of tailback Curtis McNeal to be noncompliant for the team's uniform, so tight ends coach Brennan Carroll hastily cut them off on the field with scissors from an athletic trainer.
Soaking in the victory
In the locker room after the game, Coach Carroll understandably had both good and bad things to say about the 27-6 victory on Saturday night.
"Coming back to the Coliseum and getting a win is always awesome," he said, with the players surrounding him. "There was a lot of cool stuff tonight, but there are a lot of things we need to fix."But we can't fix this game -- we've got to fix it for the next one."
Carroll then brought up the penalty issue -- 13 for 115 yards -- that afflicted the Trojans for the second straight game.
"We aren't playing good football when we have that many penalties," Carroll said. "That has to get out of here because it clouds everything we do.
"We have a lot of stuff to talk about on Monday, but let's celebrate this win tonight."
The Trojans, now 3-1 on the season, then sang the fight song to commemorate the victory, the first time they've done so since belting out "Fight on!" in the cramped visitors' locker room at Ohio Stadium two weeks ago.
A win -- no matter how messy -- counts as a win, and it sure feels good to get back on track.
A win is a WIN!
But the road ahead to the Rose Bowl is long and deceptively steep, Cal, ND, Stanford, Oregon, UCLA, and other very dangerous teams.
We MUST control our destiny by executing each and every play with intensity, determination and intelligence.
FIGHT ON !