University Southern California Trojans
Hackett Previews Trojan-Irish Battle
October 12, 1999 | Football
Oct. 12, 1999
LOS ANGELES - Following is the transcript from USC Coach Paul Hackett's weekly press conference, as he previewed this Saturday's USC-Notre Dame contest:
"It was a tough loss. We've all talked about it. You've got to put it behind you. If you don't put a loss like that behind you, a closely-fought game, it can do more damage than you realize. That was our theme on Sunday. We looked carefully at it. We didn't tackle well enough, we didn't block well enough. We played well in special teams. Mike MacGillivray was spectacular, particularly with all the criticism he came under a week ago. We were all pretty tough on him and I was leading the parade. He responded beautifully and I'm very, very proud of him. That's the kind of performance he has to keep up now. He has to keep up that standard week in and week out if we're going to be as good in the field position as we possibly can be."
"Once it's over and you try to learn from it, we've got some things we need to address. We will address those things. Then you have to quickly turn the view to Notre Dame. This is obviously a huge game for USC, it always has been. They are a particularly good team this year, clearly should be undefeated in my mind. They played some close games and easily could have won against very good opponents. They have some momentum now. The quarterback is playing with a lot of confidence right now. This is the way you hope a senior would develop, the way he's developing. There were some errors made early in the season, but this team is on a roll now. It's a very solid defense, very strong, very similar to what we saw last year. Of course last year we didn't play against Jarious Jackson and he's really the key to their offense."
"The whole experience of going back to Notre Dame, the whole rivalry over the years, is obviously a big part of this week. But what it gets down to is our ability to play at our best. We didn't play at our best against Arizona. We played sporadically. At times we played brilliantly. At other times we struggled. I think the key is now putting together all three phases, special teams, offense and defense ... I'm excited about our team. You know how I feel about this team. We always bounce back, we've always responded when things haven't gone well. Let's face it, we had two close games we could have won and we didn't. So you put it behind you, learn the best you can and move onto the next challenge."
"Defensively we're fairly healthy. As I mentioned, we didn't tackle well. It hasn't been a problem for us but it was in this game. That's something we have to remedy. We have to play against the option, which is similar to Akili Smith and what we saw a year ago."
"On the offensive side we are banged up. We've got some issues on the offensive line. We lost Eric Denmon a week ago and it continues now with the loss of Jason Grain and the possible loss of Brent McCaffrey. We've got some issues at receiver. We've been banged up all year. The freshmen have played well for the most part. But we're banged up. Mike Van Raaphorst is becoming more confident, but we have to protect the quarterback. You protect him by running the football. If you can't run the football, you put too much pressure on the pass protection. We didn't pass protect well in the ballgame. We've had good pass protection up until that game. We've got to do better at running the ball, we've got to be more in sync, having everyone involved, and we've got to throw the ball and protect it as well as we can. As I said earlier, Notre Dame is very well coached and is very powerful. They're a strong, big, powerful football team. It's totally opposite of the team we played last week."
"Special teams, we have to get an edge in special teams somehow. Oklahoma was able to exploit the kickoff return. There are some things that happened there that we have to win in special teams. We have to win on the offensive and defensive sides as well. It's a great challenge, it's a great experience. It's certainly two teams that wish they could be somewhere other than where they are, but I believe both teams could easily be undefeated. They weren't that far away. And with a triple-overtime loss and a seven-point loss at Arizona, we're close. That's history. They're 3-3, we're 3-2, and this is a big, big game. I know our guys will respond. It will be exciting to get back on the football field today."
(On fixing the running game) "We've solved a couple of things. One was the penalties, that took a couple of weeks. Another was the goal-line, that took a week. Another was the punting, that took a couple of weeks. When you're building your team and you're unsure about what kind of team you have, when the issues come up, you put your thinking cap on and try to figure out the best direction to go in. When you talk about the running game, we don't have any consistency. It's a combination of a lot of things. It's the offensive line, it's the tight end and it's the runners. Just when I think we're making progress we slide back because we don't have the same people in there we had two days earlier. The Jason Grain injury is significant. Donta Kendrick and Eric Denmon didn't play last week. We're playing with new people. At this point in the year, the backups should be excited about their opportunity to show what they can do. Zach Wilson had to play a lot last week and improved and got better. The positive side is that we'll have some guys in there getting their chance and getting an opportunity. We worked hard at paring the running game now and adjusting it to what we think will work best against Notre Dame. We're clearly going to use multiple running backs. Sultan McCullough will get some work and we should have Malaefou MacKenzie and Frank Strong back. Ultimately, Chad is going to be the leader and Chad will be the guy who needs to get the job done. I don't think there's a lot of options because of the injuries. But hopefully we'll get some good news in terms of McCaffrey and Kendrick and some of the guys on the bubble."
(On if the true freshmen linemen could play) "I think what we'll do, as far as practice, is get them off the redshirt squad and get them working with the first team, because they're going to have be in backup roles going to Notre Dame. It's something that's been forced on us by injuries. Probably Lenny Vandermade and Norm Katnick are two that come to mind right away. Travis Claridge could always play guard and Matt Welch could play tackle. That's the kind of thing we'll have to be ready to do. This is a tough game to put a true freshman who has never played in. If you have to do that, you have to, but you hope to avoid it. As the second half of this season unfolds, there's no question we'll have to look at the development of some of those people, particularly if the older players are injured."
(On scaling things back for the offensive line) "We spent the last two days figuring out what things we're going to be able to handle the best. It's not so much the new people, it's the guy next to you is new. It's how they communicate and work together. It's not something that was our forte before we started this season. It was something we knew we had to work on. And now it's been compounded by the injuries. Injuries are part of football. You can't worry about that. You have to say it's an opportunity for someone else to step up and have a chance to show what they can do, and we might find somebody who can ultimately improve us. Everyone has these problems, you just move on."
(On having one back vs. two) "We're probably more effective with two in there. Quietly we've made that change. Charlie Landrigan is now the starting fullback. He's learning and feeling his way. I thought he did very well. Chad Pierson will also get involved. They have played better."
"It's hard to win any game in college football nowadays. It's hard to beat anybody. I'm delighted that we've got three wins. I think we could have two more but didn't get it done. We expect to win. But the running game needs to continue to be focused on, and dealt with and massaged to what really is us. Right now it's hard to tell. It's hard to figure out what we're trying to do because what we've done has not worked the way we wanted it to. I'm not going to overreact to Arizona because they're the favorite in the conference and the best team we've played. I don't want to overreact to such a unique defense. Let's look at how we play in the next couple weeks. We have to continue to fight to get the right combination of players and plays for the running game."
(On if injuries have changed the team's goals) "No, I don't think so at all. We knew this season we would play with freshmen receivers. We knew we were going to play with an experienced offensive line, and we thought they would come on and develop. Through injuries that's been slowed a little bit. You always know you can lose your quarterback. You hope you don't but that happens. People have to play with backup quarterbacks. Our expectation is to win every game. I believe that if we get the onside kick, we win the game at Arizona as well. I believe we're right there. I believe in this team and it's a process of getting over the hump, where you play a tight ballgame and you come out the victor, and it's something that you learn to do. You don't have a right to win the close game. It's something you have to be able to go out and do. You become more fanatical the number of times you fall short, and that's where we are. What we need to do now is find a way to win the next one. Everyone talks about the conference. Well, almost everyone's got two losses already. Two or three losses is going to be commonplace. Every year things are different. I'm not going to let injuries be the issue. We've got good enough players, they may not be as experienced, but they need to grow into it. They need to have the same expectations as the senior players. If we're going to be a great team, we have to believe that we can do it."
(On Sultan McCullough) "I don't think we've seen Sultan at his best yet. We have to understand that in football, it usually takes a guy a couple of years to grow into a starting position. We have young people on this team that we have committed ourselves to. There is going to be a development growing process. Even though we don't want to say it's going to happen, it's going to happen. I leaned over to someone at the San Diego State game and said Carson (Palmer) played like a sophomore, and someone said yeah, that's what it is. Well, we want Carson to play like a senior. There is a process, and I know USC fans don't want to hear it, and I don't want to hear it, but the reality is that it takes time to develop excellence in a team game. Sultan McCullough, in the second half of the season, you will see a development process with him, and it will be very good. When we graduate the seniors and come back next year, you will Sultan get more and more reps, and he'll blossom. But as a redshirt freshman, he's got some tough competition. I think he's doing pretty well. He's not doing as much as we'd like, but that's my fault. We have to get him more."
(On hearing the public criticism) "USC fans expect to win every game. That's why I came here. That's what I like about this place. I love it. I don't want it to be any different. As long as our team is playing hard and playing to the end and getting the improvement you have to get, I'm happy. I have more criticism from myself than there is from the outside. This is the nature of it. We're in Los Angeles. We're USC. That's part of the deal. If we're sitting here at 5-0, all the discussion is going to be overdone. We've lost two close games. All I know is there's a process to building a football game ... A fan from the outside is able to say whatever they want to say. Our fans for the most part are pretty well educated, from the internet to the job (the media does). There's a lot of information out there that's pretty accurate. All I would say is that you have to take it in steps. We have to go on the road and win a game. What did I say before the season? We're going to play four games on the road early and we have to find a way to win. We were close at Oregon and Arizona. Now we're going to Notre Dame. I love it. I love every bit of it. Otherwise, what am I doing here?"
(On if parity will stick) "I think that USC and Southern California football is such that as we begin to add class after class, I believe there will be a point where we have the ability to nose ahead of the other people in our conference. I don't know how long that's going to take. I don't exactly how it's going to manifest itself. I think that we will be able to get back to that position, where we are the contender or one of the contenders year after year. Whether we're there or not now, we've got to play the rest of the season ... I think there's always going to be upsets. But in time, there should be 2-3 teams that become elite teams. How long can they hold onto that? I don't know."
(On losing late leads) "The only thing that I have a sense of is that we have a distorted time of possession issue. What's happening is that the defense is finding themselves on the field too long. At the time it doesn't seem like a problem, but at the fourth quarter half your team is more tired than the other half. And that was really pronounced against Arizona because of the heat and the horrendous first half by the offense. In the second half, the offense responds with that beautiful drive to start the third quarter. So I was saying myself here we go. But if it's distorted too much, it can hurt you and you won't play as well. Specifically, about Oregon State, I'll be the first one to tell you that with a 30-point lead, you're going to substitute. That's the only thing I can see. It's not an effort issue or a matter of not doing what we're supposed to be doing, I think we have to be careful we don't run out of gas. That's playing a balanced game, and it comes back again to the running game and pass completions."
(On the freshmen) "I'm absolutely delighted. We talked about the linemen. You want to plan for the future. In his third year, a lineman who has developed ought to be a fine starter. That's a three-year process. What you hate to do is steal one of those years from a guy because you had an injury. Sometimes you have to do it. But if you take a long view, you know you'll play them in their third or fourth year. Sometimes you get forced into things, and play guys as redshirt freshmen like Zach Wilson is. Zach Wilson has to play, although it's a little early for him. Brent McCaffrey played in his third year, as a redshirt sophomore, and had a solid sophomore year. He's a junior now. It's a process. No one wants to hear that it takes time. Everyone wants it to happen right away. But it might not."
(On the young players going into Notre Dame) "I'm delighted, excited. The energy for our team will be at an all-time high because of it. Notre Dame Stadium creates an atmosphere that is what college football is about. If that atmosphere intimidates you or makes you nervous, then you're not ready to play yet. There will be some people there that go there for the first time that will say wow. You have to rely on your senior leadership, your veteran leadership, to go in and treat it just like a normal game. We'll also take young players on the trip so in two years from now, they'll be able to say they remember the last trip. It's part of the process of learning to be a champion. If you can't go to Notre Dame and play well, you can't expect to be a contender."
