After a historic upset over the No. 4 Stanford Cardinal on Saturday, the Trojans were back out on the practice field today working hard to ensure that there will be no let down against Colorado.
- Quarterback Cody Kessler, who was named Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week after going 25 of 37 for 288 yards against Stanford, promised that this week would not be taken lightly even with rival UCLA looming on the horizon. "It doesn't matter who we are playing," he said. "We treat it just like any other game. The way we've been looking at it is that Saturday is just another obstacle that's in the way of our dreams and the goals that we have."
- Coach Orgeron is certainly not looking past Colorado as he understands the talent they possess. He was specifically concerned with wide receiver Paul Richardson who is explosive on special teams as well as strong tailback Christian Powell. However, his greatest concern was the Trojans' performance themselves. He said, "Our focus is on beating Colorado. It's a challenge but I trust the players and our process. I trust that they respect what we are doing and understand that we have a lot of things to play for and that Colorado is an important game."
- It was Homecoming Weekend against Stanford so there were many Trojan alumni present to witness what people have called the return to real Trojan football. No guest was more important than Matt Leinart who spoke with current quarterback Cody Kesser before leading the Trojans out of the tunnel. Kessler said Leinart told him, "The spotlight's on you man. This is where you show them what you can do. This is where legends are born. Games like this is where you are remembered."
- Coach O highlighted the class of Stanford coach David Shaw who waited outside the Trojans' locker room after the game to congratulate the team. He said, "I was really impressed. It was the first time I had ever talked to him. He was real complementary of what we're doing here and I was real complementary of him. It was a first-class move. He must have waited 10-15 minutes and I thought that was a very good gesture."
- Athletic Director Pat Haden tweeted today that defensive end Leonard Williams is one of the top five players he has seen at USC in the past 40 years. Williams, who leads the Trojans with 10 tackles-for-loss, was also named to the mid-season watch list for the Ted Hendricks award. Coach Orgeron reaffirmed Haden's praise of Williams saying that what makes him special is his size and speed ratio along with his courage and toughness.
- Another week, another injury report. Coach O confirmed that Morgan Breslin (sports hernia) and Taylor Ross (knee) both had surgery today. Cody Temple (ankle) and Anthony Brown (knee) are both out for Saturday and Silas Redd (knee) is questionable. However, Marqise Lee (knee) and Leonard Williams (shoulder) are both probable.
Here is the head coach after Competition Tuesday...
