Colorado Wednesday: Notes

The Trojans focused on third downs and getting to the quarterback on Wednesday before their final road game of the regular season against Colorado.

Helton did note that DE Christian Rector (hand) was moving well at practice, is considered day-to-day, and has a chance to play at Colorado.

The defense has had to shift to compensate for injuries to players like Rector, and LB Jordan Iosefa has made a seamless transition from inside linebacker to edge rusher. Helton acknowledged that his staff recruited the native Hawaiian knowing that he could play inside or out. "In Jordan's case, I think that he did a wonderful job of stepping up in that Notre Dame game, and then with a week of practice, did an exceptional job against Khalil [Tate] and Arizona."

John Houston Jr. has been a stalwart at ILB all season, and finally had a breakout game against Arizona last week. "I feel like I played well," he said. "I was able to just move everywhere and find the ball."

Houston credits his improvement to "being more natural" and "playing more freely" as the season's gone on. "I'm just able to play and know that I'm able to trust my playmaking ability," he said."

Houston and the defense made a lot of plays against Arizona, forcing 3 turnovers and racking up 5.0 sacks to bring USC's total on the season to 34.0 sacks — the most in the nation. "We've had some great advantages right now with our outside rush pushing quarterbacks up to our interior defensive linemen and getting them on the ground," Helton explained. "I credit kids for taking their fundamentals and technique and carrying them into gameday."

Helton noted that last year, getting Colorado QB Steven Montez "off his spot" was crucial in securing the 21-17 win. "Watching tape, when he's able to sit back in the pocket, he's deadly," Helton said. "When it's a nice day for him, he's got all the arm strength in the world to deliver the ball wherever he wants to."

Though the Buffaloes are last in the Pac-12 South with a 2-5 conference record, Helton is preparing his team for a tough game. "It's Senior Day there, it's a blackout game there, they're fighting for bowl eligibility and I bet you they would love to do it against the Trojans," Helton said. We're going to get their best effort."

Helton also explained that Colorado's 5-5 overall record doesn't necessarily reflect how well the team has played this season. "If you go back and study who they are, you're talking about heartbreaking losses vs. Arizona, UCLA, they're ahead for 48 minutes against Arizona State," Helton said. "They could be here with eight victories right now if it's not for four or five plays."

Senior safety Chris Hawkins is preparing for a tough atmosphere, not only mentally, but physically. "I think that's a hard place to play for anybody," Hawkins said of Folsom Field, which sits 5,360 feet above sea level. "It's hard to play up there especially if you're not used to the air being like that. We're going to go through and do what we can. No excuses for anything."

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