USC Head Coach Steve Spurrier:

Opening Statement:

"We didn't play well enough to beat LSU, and they are a big, strong team that obviously controls the line of scrimmage. We couldn't run the ball very well at all. We finally hit a few passes. I thought (QB) Chris Smelley came in and gave us a little spark and hit a few balls. We're just not a real smart bunch right now. (TE) Weslye Saunders, a true freshman, made some catches and lost us a first down twice in a row. I've never seen a guy do that until today. He caught that ball and then went backward, and we hit him in the flat and he couldn't put it out. He just got tackled, and I guess we missed it by an inch or two. We had some chances, and our defense hung in there and played well the second half.

"We are proud of our defensive guys for holding them to seven (points) in the second half. That's after we couldn't make two yards in three tries. We ran three times for two yards and couldn't make it. I thought at that time it was important for our offense to stay on the field and make something happen. I guess that was their (LSU) lone touchdown of the second half. (SS) Emanuel Cook had one interception go right off his hands - so for us to have won this game we need to make that interception. We need to get that fumble. Their receiver fumbled after catching a little flat pass in front of our bench. If (CB) Carlos (Thomas) could have batted it up into the air instead of batting it right back to him that was another seven possible points there. So we didn't get any real big plays that way. Our guys hung in there, and we have Mississippi State next week so we'll get this one behind us real quickly."

"We had to try something different. Blake couldn't even catch the snap. He dropped two or three snaps, one went through his hands. We just had to try something. He (Mitchell) maybe didn't do all that poorly, but we have to give Chris Smelley a chance. We're going to give him a chance next week and see what happens."

"It worked perfectly. Obviously when they work they're a good call. I was sitting over there wanting to go safe field goal (defense) because that guy (Colt David) had just missed a 30-yarder, and I was worried we were going to rough him. I said, `What are we doing here?' and somebody said, `We're going after him.' I said, `Well, OK.' I hesitated, but I would have said `Let's see if he can make it' because we had done a good job of holding them and forcing a field goal. But we went after him, and (CB) Captain (Munnerlyn) went. We had some guys standing around behind him, but they executed it perfectly. Give those guys credit for that."

USC Player Quotes:

Mark Barnes:

"You know that's coach's call...it's great to hear. Just got to go out there and work hard and lad the team to some victories."

"They're a solid team overall like any SEC team we play basically. They do a lot of different things and they've got solid guys up front. They're a pretty good team."

"We never gave up. The defense stayed in there and battled in the second half and didn't give up many points. We never stopped playing."

"We talked about that all week, getting rid of the ball quickly because they have a good pass rush and a good d-line."

"It was a game where we had a chance the whole time until the end. We worked hard and now we need to have a good week of practice going to play Mississippi State."

"Any time you get in a game it's different than practice. I feel like gaining this experience will definitely be a good thing."

Chris Hampton:

"LSU out played us tonight, they (LSU) just made more plays than we did. They are a very talented team."

"Yes, we did struggle. They ran a lot of yards on us and it was embarrassing. We need to watch the films and see what the particulars are and what we need to do for improvement. Somebody needed to make plays and they (LSU) were making the plays."

"It could have been a different game. We missed out on some opportunities to get back in the game. We had some turnovers and they just made big plays."

"Hopefully, we make it, it's still our goal. They are a very good team, so they are favored to make it (SEC Championship). "

"I don't know, we've seen them and they've seen us so it equals out."

William Brown:

"I think LSU is a great team. They are powerful and very talented."

"It's frustrating when you get a big drive and it's continually stopped by their defense. It's frustrating for the offensive line. You have to play your assignment as best as you can. Sometimes the ball just doesn't go your way. I fumbled tonight and they made great plays."