SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Experience Trojan football in this special insider report from the locker room and on the sidelines before, during and after USC's 34-27 win at Notre Dame on Saturday:
Before it all
Some tidbits from the sideline and locker room before the game:
- As the Trojans ran up the tunnel after warm-ups, the juices were flowing big-time because of several barbs that were thrown between the two teams, which were going up to their locker rooms at almost the same time. And then to make it even more exciting for the Trojans, the Notre Dame marching band lined the tunnel all the way to the visitors' locker room and blasted the school's fight song while the USC players walked up.
- Because of the pre-game pageantry, the Trojans had 30 minutes in the locker room between returning from warm-ups and leaving for kickoff, an inordinately long time (it's usually about 15-17 minutes). "I just want to get out of here!" Matt Barkley exclaimed during the waiting time. Because the locker room was heated, the time was much appreciated by the cold players, and it seemed to fly by fairly quickly.
- "They believe; we know!" fullback Stanley Havili bellowed to motivate his teammates in the locker room before the game.
- Players violently pounded on the metal lockers as they waited, creating a neat buzz as the clock ticked closer to kickoff.
- While waiting in the locker room, players hummed Jay-Z's "Run this town tonight" in unison.
- Coach Carroll's pre-game speech, which was said while players were humming "Seven Nation Army" by the White Stripes: "We're going to play with great effort, play with great enthusiasm and play smart. They don't know about the Trojans today!"
- On the way down the tunnel to the field, players slowly chanted, "War time!"
On the sideline
Here are some notes from the USC sideline during the game:
- During the second-quarter review of a USC punt return that possibly could have touched one of the Trojans as the ball bounced around downfield, both Coach Carroll and special teams coordinator Brian Schneider approached the three players closest to the play to ask their opinion. All three -- Jawanza Starling, Garrett Green and T.J. McDonald -- said the ball didn't touch a USC player. "It didn't hit anybody," Starling told the coaches. "It went behind me," McDonald said. Moments later, the referee announced the same thing, and the ball went to USC.
- Wideout Damian Williams scored two touchdowns during the game, and while teammates were ecstatic about his plays, they were just as excited about the supporting roles other players had on both scores. A great backfield block by Joe McKnight laid the foundation for Williams' first TD, and wideout Brice Butler's downfield block allowed Williams to spring free for his second score.
- To combat the frigid temperatures, players wore several layers of sleeves, winter caps and leggings, and most had waist pouches filled with warmers to keep their hands toasty. The worst part of the three-hour, 39-minute game, though, wasn't the cold but the wind as the Trojans were completely unsheltered from the chilly breeze that blew for most of the matchup.
At the half
Coaches were very encouraging at halftime, telling players that the offense and defense were playing well, even though the 13-7 score didn't exactly show it. But then the focus turned to finishing what they started during the second half.
"Let's show how much we love playing football," Coach Carroll told the Trojans.
The final moments
During Notre Dame's final drive, the USC sideline was abuzz with adrenaline, as the players not in the game crowded the field trying to urge their defensive teammates on to the game-winning stop.
On every play, the players bounced around and chanted, yelled or sang together, producing energy that was clearly felt and heard on the field. And when the clock finally hit triple-zero (both times), the players exploded out onto the field like volcano lava, running around hugging and high-fiving each other.
It was the happiest of times for the Trojans.
After it all
The post-game locker room scene was pure elation. Not quite as energized as after the Ohio State win last month, but pretty darn close.
"That's a helluva win!" Coach Carroll said amid boisterous cheers from the players. "A helluva win! You bring it every single time and that's awesome."
Carroll emphasized that the victory only happened because both the offense and defense played well -- "appreciate both sides of the ball because it took everyone tonight," Carroll said. Then he chided the team for the influx of mindless penalties on Saturday.
"The penalty problem is something we can fix," Carroll said. "It's something we will fix, because it allowed them to get back in it."
Lastly, Carroll excitedly looked ahead toward next week's game, the team's first at home in a month.
"Let's keep moving on," Carroll said. "Everything is out there for us as long as we take it one game at a time."
Before it all
Some tidbits from the sideline and locker room before the game:- As the Trojans ran up the tunnel after warm-ups, the juices were flowing big-time because of several barbs that were thrown between the two teams, which were going up to their locker rooms at almost the same time. And then to make it even more exciting for the Trojans, the Notre Dame marching band lined the tunnel all the way to the visitors' locker room and blasted the school's fight song while the USC players walked up.
- Because of the pre-game pageantry, the Trojans had 30 minutes in the locker room between returning from warm-ups and leaving for kickoff, an inordinately long time (it's usually about 15-17 minutes). "I just want to get out of here!" Matt Barkley exclaimed during the waiting time. Because the locker room was heated, the time was much appreciated by the cold players, and it seemed to fly by fairly quickly.
- "They believe; we know!" fullback Stanley Havili bellowed to motivate his teammates in the locker room before the game.
- Players violently pounded on the metal lockers as they waited, creating a neat buzz as the clock ticked closer to kickoff.
- While waiting in the locker room, players hummed Jay-Z's "Run this town tonight" in unison.
- Coach Carroll's pre-game speech, which was said while players were humming "Seven Nation Army" by the White Stripes: "We're going to play with great effort, play with great enthusiasm and play smart. They don't know about the Trojans today!"
- On the way down the tunnel to the field, players slowly chanted, "War time!"
On the sideline
Here are some notes from the USC sideline during the game:- During the second-quarter review of a USC punt return that possibly could have touched one of the Trojans as the ball bounced around downfield, both Coach Carroll and special teams coordinator Brian Schneider approached the three players closest to the play to ask their opinion. All three -- Jawanza Starling, Garrett Green and T.J. McDonald -- said the ball didn't touch a USC player. "It didn't hit anybody," Starling told the coaches. "It went behind me," McDonald said. Moments later, the referee announced the same thing, and the ball went to USC.
- Wideout Damian Williams scored two touchdowns during the game, and while teammates were ecstatic about his plays, they were just as excited about the supporting roles other players had on both scores. A great backfield block by Joe McKnight laid the foundation for Williams' first TD, and wideout Brice Butler's downfield block allowed Williams to spring free for his second score.
- To combat the frigid temperatures, players wore several layers of sleeves, winter caps and leggings, and most had waist pouches filled with warmers to keep their hands toasty. The worst part of the three-hour, 39-minute game, though, wasn't the cold but the wind as the Trojans were completely unsheltered from the chilly breeze that blew for most of the matchup.
At the halfCoaches were very encouraging at halftime, telling players that the offense and defense were playing well, even though the 13-7 score didn't exactly show it. But then the focus turned to finishing what they started during the second half.
"Let's show how much we love playing football," Coach Carroll told the Trojans.
The final moments
During Notre Dame's final drive, the USC sideline was abuzz with adrenaline, as the players not in the game crowded the field trying to urge their defensive teammates on to the game-winning stop.
On every play, the players bounced around and chanted, yelled or sang together, producing energy that was clearly felt and heard on the field. And when the clock finally hit triple-zero (both times), the players exploded out onto the field like volcano lava, running around hugging and high-fiving each other.
It was the happiest of times for the Trojans.
After it all
The post-game locker room scene was pure elation. Not quite as energized as after the Ohio State win last month, but pretty darn close."That's a helluva win!" Coach Carroll said amid boisterous cheers from the players. "A helluva win! You bring it every single time and that's awesome."
Carroll emphasized that the victory only happened because both the offense and defense played well -- "appreciate both sides of the ball because it took everyone tonight," Carroll said. Then he chided the team for the influx of mindless penalties on Saturday.
"The penalty problem is something we can fix," Carroll said. "It's something we will fix, because it allowed them to get back in it."
Lastly, Carroll excitedly looked ahead toward next week's game, the team's first at home in a month.
"Let's keep moving on," Carroll said. "Everything is out there for us as long as we take it one game at a time."
Great Blog Report. Thanks for providing an extra of level of insignt to Trojan Football. FIGHT ON!!
Several of the Trojan penalties were underserved. I don't know how you fix those, but if there is a place for fans to log complaints about penalties, I would love to know. The late hit one against Taylor Mays was just plain wrong. The ND player was not yet out of bounds and trying to stay in bounds and get a few more yards. The unsportsmanlike conduct penalty is being called for things that in no way are taunting the other team, but simply a player briefly looking to his own team and celebrating a great play. I saw ND players celebrating in the same way and not being called. I don't think either team deserved excessive celebration penalties. But the refs need to be careful on those kind of calls. They owe it to the players and their fans not to call excessive, undeserved penalties. It adversely impacts the game.
I always notice guys w/ video cameras in the background of "behind-the-scenes" type of locker room situations. Is there a video being produced following this years team? Or is this just local TV station people? I think a video of all the locker room /behind the scenes to SC's season would be very interesting!