After watching some film, he was proud of his players effort. He liked their preparation, but says they need to finish better. They went three and out when they had the lead and then gave up a score. They drove down the field and had a chance to score a TD but didn't execute and had to settle for a field goal to tie. Then got it down to 18 seconds left and USC was at the 47 and they gave up a big play and targeting to put them in a great position.
Liked what he saw from Nussmeier, Taylor, Anderson and Lacy (mentions he needs to touch the ball in all four quarters). Also mentions John Emery and how good his looked coming off his ACL tear.
Thought his defense did a great job on third downs. They held USC to 3-9 on third down, which was a problem all year in 2023.
Princeton Malbrue seems to have a serious knee injury after the game. Said the imagery did not look good. It happened on the kickoff with the missed block in the back.
Kyle Parker has a UCL injury. They expect him to come back, but they don't know exactly when.
Says his comments about Moss outplaying Nussmeier were not intended to discourage Nuss. He thought Nuss played very well, but was trying to highlight Moss' plays down the stretch that led to the win.
They need to be more efficient with the running game. Says his Oline knows they didn't execute to the best of their abilities, but also says part of their rushing struggles were on coaching.
Says his player prepare themselves as well as any team he's ever had, but preparation isn't how you win. You have to play much more consistent than they did on Sunday, especially down the stretch.
Says he was so mad at Lacy and Burns for their personal fouls because they've worked so hard to get their mental in the right spot. Kyren and Major were both so apologetic about their mistakes, because they know they need to be better, so he's not worried about them making those mistakes in the future.
Thought Zavion Thomas did a great job as a receiver and punt returner.
Says they need to get Shelton Sampson ready to play for them. If they get him ready and he can be a focal point in the offense, it really will allow them to move guys around and do different things.
Says if Hilton was an offensive lineman, he could probably play. However, that injury at receiver is hard to come back from. He needs to be 100% and needs to be able to be able to change speed and direction without any pain first.
Thought the entire defense played really well, but was blunt in saying they need to see better production from the safety position.
Said going for it on fourth and three in the red zone was because the analytics said it was the right move. As for the choice to receive the kick off, he said he wants to go on offense first because whoever scores first has a higher percent chance of winning.
Thinks they're going to be a better football team because of this game. Doesn't think a team gets much out of winning 70-0 week one. Says the margin is now razor thin, but they'll be better because of it.
Thought DJ Chester handled himself very well. He was put in some tough situations, but thought he played as well as a "rookie" center could against a tough opponent.
He knows John Emery is a big back who can run you over, but thinks his real strength is in his vision. He was able to find holes in the line and hit them hard.
