USC Head Coach Steve Spurrier:

Opening Statement:

"We can finally say special teams won a game now. Kenny McKinley made a beautiful play, had a super game. Smelley had one careless throw, but played OK. [Our] protection was good. The line played good. Mississippi State played tough.

"It was fun, a good game to win for us. To be behind in the third quarter, to keep playing, that was sort of neat. [We're] glad to beat those guys, get another conference win.

"After the block, it turned around. Mike (Davis) got a game ball with three touchdown runs. He is good around the goal line.

"Coach Nix called a super game. Instead of eight, we got nine up there in the third quarter, forced some punts.

"(Boyd) tweaked his knee. It caught in the ground, but he was able to walk it off. He will be sore tomorrow. He came back and made some nice plays for us.

"We finally hit a few passes down the field. We could hit a few more. We're not nearly as good as our potential can be, but Kenny McKinley fortunately got in some spots to make some catches.

"It was good to make 400 yards. We ran as much as we threw, as it ended up."

"The interception was his only bad play. He was rolling out of the pocket.

"The defense forced seven punts. We only had four. Nine third-down conversions, that was the reason we were able to do something."

"Eric is one of our best players. That's why we've got him on punt block. We've got to put our best players in to make plays. He got a game ball."

"It was one of big plays in the game. The next play to Kenny was a quick turnaround. From there, it was pretty good sailing for us.

"Our defensive kids are well coached. They can play defense. We can play the pass. We've got to stop the run, but we can't keep giving opportunities.

"Offensively, we really hit some down the field. Our protection was not super early, but we got better. We got a lot more yards than we got last year. I thought Seaver [Brown] and James Thompson held up well. There were no glaring whiffs up front. They had pretty good pressure overall. They've got a pretty good defense. Chris took care of the ball well. That was encouraging for us. We have to continue to improve, to find some guys that love to play, that love to compete.

"Kentucky obviously is one of the best offensive teams in the conference. That will be a fun game, one of the biggest we've had it in a while. We're trying to maximize this season. We'll play good players, it doesn't matter whether they are first year or fourth year. We're trying to win a championship."

USC Player Quotes:

Chris Smelley:

"I felt good the whole time. I have been practicing for weeks. I was comfortable the whole time. I don't worry, I can't think about mistakes and play quarterback.

"I managed the game well. I had to make changes. I felt like I was in control and a leader out there

Mississippi State has good defense. We got behind, but we never stopped battling. Offense got clicking and put some points on the board."

Darian Stewart:

"The win felt real good. The first half we didn't play well but the second we came out and did what we usually do."

Emauel Cook:

"We needed to step it up. Everyone was trying to take leadership. We felt like we needed to step it up in the second half and we did. We have to step it up every week for four quarters now."

Mike Davis:

It was a big win, like every game. We needed momentum going into the other games.

Marvin Sapp:

"This is an SEC game. We must win. It is another step in our path.

This is my role. It is my time for me to show the coaches that I can play this position."