The Trojans turn the page after a tough loss and look ahead to the Bears...
- Lane Kiffin still has the bitter taste of losing in his mouth. "I kind of wish I was a baseball coach," he joked about the long wait until the next game. Both the coaches and players were excited to be back out on the practice field with the pads on.
Matt Barkley has a 24-hour rule after a win or a loss. He was despondent in the immediate aftermath of the game because he did not see the result coming. "I think the loss itself and the shock behind it," he explained his post-game reaction. "I didn't think that was going to happen this year."- Kiffin has been honest about the poor decision-making Barkley made on the two interceptions, but he made the comments in the context of his quarterback's typical greatness. Today, Kiffin drew a parallel to Peyton Manning throwing three interceptions in the first quarter on Monday Night Football.
- Barkley agreed with his head coach's assessment and candor, "I made some poor decisions. He's going to be real. I'm glad he's not hiding me behind a curtain. I know what I did."
- As is typical in football, the quarterback gets the lion's share of the credit when his team wins, but shoulders the blame after a loss. "It's my team and my offense," Barkley understands. "I know we're responsible for doing more than that and are capable of doing more than that."
- The offensive line is under scrutiny this week. "As a whole group, we weren't up to par," said offensive line coach James Cregg. "We've corrected the mistakes off the film and we're moving on to next week."
- Abe Markowitz might have started at center if not for an injury that cost him practice time last week, so the coaches went with Cyrus Hobbi, who took all the first team reps leading up to Stanford. Markowitz has missed out on playing time a lot in the last three years due to injury, but he is not bemoaning his luck. "I am the luckiest guy in the world. I'm here. I got my degree. I'm working on my Master's. I'm glad to be here growing and going forward."
- If Markowitz plays Saturday, he brings a level of experience to the position that Hobbi does not have. "I've been here just as long as Khaled [Holmes] and been in every meeting with him," he said. "I'm prepared and I'm ready to take snaps at guard or center."
- The left tackle spot is an open competition this week between Aundrey Walker and Max Tuerk. "We are looking for finish," said Kiffin. "We won't tolerate lack of great effort...not when you put on these jerseys that all these great players have worn before."
- Kiffin expects Walker will respond well to the challenge. "I'm going to keep working hard," Walker said. "I don't let anything stop me from helping the team."
- Here is the long post-practice session with Kiffin against the new practice backdrop...
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