- Smith-Schuster had his surgically repaired hand in a heavy cast. "His mindset always is to play," said interim head coach Clay Helton about his star receiver. "He's got this cast on for 24 hours, then he goes to a soft cast. Then, it's just going to be a pain tolerance thing...You've got to plan for him not to be here, but he is Superman. It wouldn't shock me, all of a sudden, if Thursday or Friday, he said, 'Coach, I'm ready.'"
- RT Zach Banner was excused from practiced today to be with his family to mourn the death of his grandfather. He is expected to return later this week.
- Today's media focus was on the defense, which succeeded both upfront and in the back against Cal. "The defensive unit is really coming together," said Helton. "It's really neat to watch them practice and perform."
- First and foremost, the Trojans have improved their run defense. "We've been better as far as stopping the run, but we still have to be more disciplined in order for us to be successful throughout all four quarters," said senior DT Antwaun Woods.
- And in the secondary, Chris Hawkins played one of his better games as a safety, leading the team in tackles. "I was just real comfortable with the game plan we had," Hawkins said about the Cal game. "It was a defensive backs game. It's a game we all wish for - we were in nickel the whole time. I felt good in the game plan we had and we executed."
- However, Hawkins would like to clean up the defensive backs propensity to get flagged for pass interference. "We have to learn how to not panic when the ball is in the air," he said. "When the ball is in the air, we just have to stay calm and know that it's a 50/50 chance, we might get it, he might get it or no one will get it. Two of those three go our way, so we just have to stay calm when the ball is in the air and relax."
- Arizona's rush offense is ranked 11th nationally and second in the Pac-12, averaging 265 yards per game. "It's a great challenge for us," Woods said about the Wildcats. "Our main focus is to be disciplined and fit the run over and over again for four quarters. They go fast, we've got to be able to keep playing."
- Here's the full press conference from Helton who comments on the hot topic of the week in the conference -Â stealing signals:
