- On this election day, Lane Kiffin declined to answer all political questions, calling it "a no-win," but please make sure you cast your vote. The blog makes for good reading on polling lines.
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Kiffin endorsed Matt Barkley and Marqise Lee, whose remarkable play has been overshadowed by team losses. "I do feel bad because we're not winning the games, the storyline, rightfully so, is not about Matt and Marqise, it's about what we're doing wrong," said Kiffin. "If we were winning the games, the storylines would be about Matt's play and how he's even playing better than a year ago. And, Marqise just setting the world on fire putting up numbers that nobody's ever seen before as a true sophomore." - Barkley's only individual negative has been an increase in interceptions from seven in 2011 to 10 already this season. Of the 10, Kiffin estimated that seven were the result of poor decision-making. He challenged his senior QB to set a goal of no picks over the next three games.
- On the Oregon loss, Kiffin again called the defense "unacceptable," and made it clear the coaching staff took the blame. He also considered going for an onsides kick earlier in the contest, but "really kept having faith that we were going to stop them."
- He also called freshman left tackle Max Tuerk's play "phenomenal" against Oregon's talented ends. "He's done a great job stepping up in that role, especially as a true freshman," said senior center Khaled Holmes. "He's the first true freshman to start at left tackle for USC and that's saying a lot for such a storied program."
- The offensive line as a whole has improved gradually since the rough outing at Stanford. "We're starting to come together. We've played better each week," said Holmes. "We're still not as consistent as I'd like to be, but we're definitely progressing."
- Holmes will be put to the test this week against Arizona State DT Will Sutton, who leads the Pac-12 with 15 tackles for loss. "He's a great player. He had a knee injury earlier in the year, but he's back and looked great against Oregon State. It should be a fun match-up for us," said Holmes.
- As a captain, Holmes is tasked with rallying the troops after two emotional losses. "Fortunately, it's not too difficult with this team. We still have a lot to play for. We can potentially end this season on a very positive note."
- Marqise Lee was among a couple players who engaged in a little Twitter trash talk last night with what they thought was UCLA CB Randall Goforth. As it turned out, the Goforth account was not the player, but a UCLA fan trying to start something. "[Goforth] is actually a friend of mine," said Lee, who thought the two were just "playing around." Goforth and a couple other Bruins texted Lee to let him know that it was not him.
- UCLA head coach Jim Mora Jr. called Lane Kiffin to alert him that the Twitter account was fake. Kiffin then relayed the info to Lee and Robert Woods and told them to "knock it off," according to Lee.
- A long, but interesting Kiffin presser today...
