Post Game Quotes
September 28, 2002 | Football
Sept. 28, 2002
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Oregon State head coach Dennis Erickson:
"USC kicked our rear ends - in a lot of phases. Part of it was USC's defense and part was our offense. I've never had an offense that was so inefficient as were today. Give their defense credit. It was ugly. Our defense played well, but they were on the field the whole game."
"There were dropped passes, penalties in the halo zone on returns. We weren't good on special teams. Offensively, I'm puzzled on how we went from where we were (in the first four games) to what happened today. USC played really well."
"USC's pressure, they got to us with a four-man rush. Not so much blitzing. Just a straight four-man. We were in second and long all game and when that happens, they can just pin their ears back and rush. We had our opportunities, but got a little flustered. We didn't have much of a running game to speak of."
Oregon State quarterback Derek Anderson:
"Their defense was overpowering. Yeah, I'm pretty sore. They came after me hard all day. We just need to go back and move on to UCLA."
(Regarding sacks): "Some of the times, it was me holding on to the ball too long and sometimes it was missed blocking assignments."
Oregon State offensive guard Mike Kuykendall:
"We weren't overconfident, but maybe not prepared. They played hard and with a lot of heart and we couldn't match it. I don't know where it went wrong. We didn't make the proper adjustments."
USC head coach Pete Carroll:
"I'm really thrilled with this opening game in the Pac-10. The first three games were all about getting ready for the Pac-10. We really need the attitude and resolve to play good tough football, but that's what our schedule demands. It was a good effort on offense. Not spectacular, but they are going to be tough."
"I'm thinking that we are going to be a good club. We know we can play defense and if we can keep taking care of the ball on offense, we are going to be tough to beat."
(On his defense): "That was a great day's work. It didn't really matter what we called. The guys up front were just tearing it up. And it wasn't just one guy. It was a bunch of guys, a real team effort. When your four guys can rush up front, it's just so much fun because it doesn't matter what coverage you run. This is an exciting group. These guys are going to be together for a long time and we are just adding guys to it.
(On Mike Williams): "Today, he was excellent, making tough catches in the middle. And we were counting on him on those fade routes."
USC quarterback Carson Palmer:
"We have a lot to improve on offensively. I don't think we played well. I don't think I played well. The defense won the game today. We definitely have things to improve on before we go up to Washington State next week.
(On USC's rotation at running back): "We've got three great tailbacks. It's awesome. All three of those guys are weapons in the running game and when one of them gets tired, we've got another guy to put in."
