Like every other Monday afternoon, the Trojans gathered for a "Tell the Truth" meeting in Heritage Auditorium.

But unlike every other Monday afternoon, the room was essentially silent while players waited for Coach Carroll to come to the front.

"The truth is," Carroll, holding a football, said to break the silence, pausing for effect. "The truth is, it's all about the ball. That's the truth. We've documented it, we've proven it and we've illustrated it in so many ways.

"We've got to own the football. We can't take liberties."

Carroll was referring to USC's three turnovers -- and zero takeaways -- in Saturday's still-shocking 16-13 loss at Washington. And that's not including the two additional fumbles the Trojans coughed up but wound up recovering.

So now it's all about "getting our stuff right," Carroll said.

"We can keep winning, we can get on a roll, because we know exactly how to get it done," Carroll said. "Let's do it how we know how to do it -- day after day after day. Are we going to go places? Heck yeah. Are we going to come back flying? Yes.

"But we need everyone together to make this happen, to bounce back like we know how."