- On the injury front, S Gerald Bowman (deep thigh bruise) and TE Randall Telfer (hip pointer) are banged up, and long snapper Zach Smith (concussion) has not been cleared yet. Head coach Steve Sarkisian is hoping to get Smith back, but he is "preparing for all scenarios" on special teams.
- The Trojans are thankful to have another game this week with an opportunity for redemption after letting one slip away. While the loss hurt the players, coaches and fans, they have no intention of wallowing in the misery. "Something we emphasized this week is that it's over," said QB Cody Kessler. "Unfortunately, you never want to lose a game like that. It's real tough, but complaining and whining about it isn't going to change your win-loss record."
- While the defense has taken the brunt of the post-game criticism, the offense expressed equal responsibility. "The bottom line is we didn't score enough points," said Kessler. "That's on me and that's on the offense. Coach [Clay] Helton put in perspective. He said, 'If another team is explosive and they score 50 points, we have to score 51.' We have to give our defense a better cushion and make the plays when they appear. We left stuff on the field and should have had more points at the end of the game."
- Statistically, the Trojans hit their marks with 200+ yards passing and rushing, but Sarkisian would like to see more big plays from his offense. "We're doing a lot of stuff really good," said Sarkisian, citing third downs, red zone efficiency and turnover margin. "The explosive plays piece is something that I would really like for us to improve upon. I would like to create more offensively, and I'd like to minimize them drastically defensively. It is a point of emphasis."
- Nelson Agholor was dynamic running after the catch against Arizona State, including a punt return for a touchdown, but he expects more from himself. "I need to be more explosive. I left a couple plays out there," he said.
- Agholor explained that the captains and leaders of this team are staying positive to demonstrate to the young players how to overcome adversity, which is no secret to the veterans. RT Zach Banner is following the lead, saying, "As long as we take care of us, we're going to win. As long as we take care of what we need to take care of, we're going to win. That's with every team. Because we have the best team in the country, I don't care what anybody says. We have the best players, coaching staff is amazing, we just all have to be on the same page."
- The offensive line has put together back-to-back solid performances, but this conference does not allow for complacency. Arizona's pass rush won the day at Oregon. "They play with a high motor," Banner said of the Wildcats. "They're good, they're hard rushers. When I say that they play with a high motor, they're all game, every play, so that's why we have to have hard practices like this and get ourselves to just play fast, play fast."
- With a Top 10 ranking and a primetime showdown against a traditional power, the Wildcat faithful will Bear Down on Saturday night, so Sarkisian had crowd noise pumped into the practice field today. "We're just anticipating a hostile environment there in Arizona," said the head coach. "I know there students will be fired up, and I want to make sure our guys are prepared for it."
- Here is Sarkisian's post-practice presser...
