Here's a defensive player's thought on the offense.
``You can't expect the offense to score 50 points every game,'' safety Taylor Mays said.
Pete Carroll summed everything in the locker room tonight following his press conference.
``The biggest issue we face is the turnover thing,' Carroll said. ``On a day like this, we could easily lose.''
Here's what USC gained from today's game.
``We have to learn from it,'' offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian said after the game. ``There will be a 24-21 game and we can't turn it over five straight times. In a tight ball game, we need to snap out of funks earlier.''
``God, it took forever. I kept waiting for something to happen so the fans would clap.''
-- Pete Carroll on the third quarter.
Joe McKnight was asked if he thought about not fumbling during the game.
``I didn't try and about that at all during the game. In practice I focused on keeping the ball high and tight and getting all the bad habits out of the way so I could just focus on good thoughts during the game.''
Mark Sanchez gave a couple comments before quickly leaving the locker room.
``It was a tough outing for me and the offense as a whole. I think that we did it to ourselves.
I didn't make good decisions or good throws.''
``I don't know if I've been around an offensive performance like that in my career. I can't honestly say I don't remember being this ineffective on offensive in my career.''
-- Arizona State coach Dennis Erickson
Time to start discussing the game. Another comfortable victory, of course. But this is a luxury of being in a conference where you don't have to play Texas, Oklahoma, Florida or LSU today.
Joe McKnight bounced back with a nice and didn't fumble. The defense played fairly well against an extremely inept offense but dropped several interceptions.
Your thoughts?
With 6:39 left in the third quarter, both teams have 8 net yards in the second half.
Mark Sanchez has not thrown an interception for the past 1.5 games, but he's fumbled twice in that period.
UPDATED: We spoke too soon! There's the interception.
UPDATED AGAIN: And another interception. And another.
Kaluka Maiava is uncertain to return after he sprained his ankle in the second quarter.
UPDATED: Maiava returned and appears OK.
We've got an out of control sprinkler at the 35-yard line right in front of the stands that soaked some fans and cleared a section at the start of the half. The Coliseum!
USC tried a fake field that failed with a 21-0 lead. Maybe ASU realized something was up when Garrett Green suddenly replaced Greg Woidneck as the holder.
Kevin Thomas intercepts Rudy Carpenter and goes 46 yards for a touchdown. The offense was inconsistent early but it already looks over. Lots of empty seats today.
Time to discuss any late hunches. Will Rudy Carpenter play? Will USC start slowly?
Here's an interesting stat from last week, courtesy of wide receivers coach John Morton.
Is USC being a 29.5-point favorite today over Arizona State a blessing or a curse?
I've heard unconfirmed reports there were about 2,000 tickets available for the game around tunnel 4. Check with the ticket office if you're interested.
There's been a lot of focus on Arizona State backup quarterback Danny Sullivan because Rudy Carpenter's status is uncertain. But what happens if Sullivan gets hurt and Carpertner cannot play?
The Sun Devils' third quarterback is Samson Szakacsy, who originally committed to USC but saw the writing on the wall when Aaron Corp and, more importantly, Mitch Mustain suddenly became part of his recruiting class. Who can blame him?
Arizona State quarterback Rudy Carpenter (sprained ankle) said today whether he plays will be a game-time decision.
Stafon Johnson will be the No. 1 punt returner against Arizona State, according to Pete Carroll. Johnson did not know until informed by the media.
``No one's told me,'' he said.
Joe McKnight said his sore knee felt better and he would be able to play.
It looks like Vidal Hazelton's OK to play Saturday as he practiced Thursday without problems. Assistant coach John Morton said Hazelton was not going to redshirt.
Fullback Stanley Havili did not practice and awaits doctors approval for the game. Havili suffered a shoulder stinger but said he has no doubt he will play.
``I know I'll be cleared by Saturday,'' he said. ``Based on myself.''
Does USC miss cornerback Shareece Wright? The secondary's been fine the past two games but an NFL scout said today that Wright is the best corner USC's had since Will Poole and could easily end up being better.
Pete Carroll said earlier this week that Clay Matthews played defensive end better than Brian Cushing two years. Which raises the next question? Would Cushing have been the best middle linebacker if he played the spot his entire career?
Vidal Hazelton finally got his MRI on his sprained ankle (ankles) on Wednesday night although it might be a moot point since he is practicing and available for the game against Arizona State.
We're hearing from NFL scouts that defensive end Clay Matthews is already making himself a first-day draft pick based on his fast start.
There was an odd moment during yesterday's press conference when USC coach Pete Carroll was asked when linebacker Luthur Brown (back) will be cleared by doctors. No real answer was given and even a, ``Before the end of the season?'' comment drew no response.
USC wide receiver Travon Patterson currently has more holding penalties (2) than receptions (0).
Preliminary tryouts for the song girls are Sunday from 3:30 p.m.-6 p.m at the Lyon Center. Final auditions will be Oct. 22 at 3 p.m. at the Lyon Center.
Mitch Mustain on at least being the backup QB for two straight games.
``It does beat the alternative,'' Mustain said. ``I don't know if there's consolation or if you get a prize for it. We'll start again Monday.''
Tailback Joe McKnight said he believed he solved his problem fumbling punt returns.
``I'm working on catching the ball first instead of making my moves first,'' McKnight said. ``I need to look the ball in until I catch instead of trying to run. I've done a better job this week.''
Stanley Havili (neck) was cleared by team doctors tonight although linebacker Luthur Brown (back) remains in limbo. Rey Maualuga (sprained knee) sounded unsure about his status until informed he would start and then agreed he would start against Arizona State.
Quarterback Mark Sanchez is also expected to start after participating in about a third of the team's scrimmaging on Wednesday.
Arizona State coach Dennis Erickson said quarterback Rudy Carpenter is ``is very doubtful'' for Saturday's game.
``Our plan is that (Danny Sullivan is) going to play," Erickson said. "That's where it's at right now."
The Texas-Oklahoma game matters to USC because the Longhorns and Sooners are both in the top five and it has BCS ramifications. Here's what happened in past meetings when both teams were in the top five:
1950 No. 3 Oklahoma def. No. 4 Texas 14-13
1963 No. 2 Texas def. No. 1 Oklahoma 28-7
1975 No. 2 Oklahoma def. No. 5 Texas 24-17
1977 No. 2 Oklahoma def. No. 5 Texas 13-6
1979 No. 4 Texas def. No. 3 Oklahoma 16-7
1984 No. 1 Texas tied No. 3 Oklahoma 15-15
2001 No. 3 Oklahoma def. No. 5 Texas 14-3
2002 No. 2 Oklahoma def. No. 3 Texas 35-24
2004 No. 2 Oklahoma def. No. 5 Texas 12-0
USC coach Tim Floyd did not attend today's Southern California basketball luncheon at the Los Angeles Athletic Club because he is out of town.
This is a tradition for USC, because Henry Bibby annually skipped the event after he was denied a free membership to the athletic club.
Loyola tailback Anthony Barr, who was offered by Notre Dame, USC and UCLA, made an unofficial visit to Notre Dame last weekend. The Irish are heavy favorites to land him.
Did Caesar take a shot at John David Booty while discussing the deep-passing game?
``Our emphasis is not different (this year) but we're better at it right now than the last couple years,'' he said. ``Mark (Sanchez) has a real knack.''
With Vidal Hazelton apparently losing his attempt to redshirt, he and David Ausberry are now fighting for the No. 4 spot in the rotation. The winner is this seems to be Ronald Johnson, who is now a comfortable No. 3.
The Rocky Mountain News published its first Heisman Trophy of the season which asks 10 actual voters and picked the winner 18 of the past 21 seasons.
Player, Position School Points
Chase Daniel, QB Missouri 45 (7)
Sam Bradford QB Oklahoma 39 (1)
Colt McCoy QB Texas 25 (1)
Jeremy Maclin WR Missouri 8 (1)
Others receiving votes: Max Hall (QB, Brigham Young), 6; Graham Harrell (QB, Texas Tech), 6; Javon Ringer (RB, Michigan State), 6; Tim Tebow (QB, Florida), 6; Donald Brown (RB, Connecticut), 3; Mark Sanchez (QB, USC), 3; Dez Bryant (WR, Oklahoma State), 1; Michael Crabtree (WR, Texas Tech), 1; David Johnson (QB, Tulsa), 1
Pete Carroll said Everson Griffen's demotion last week was not to motivate the inconsistent prep star.
``Nope. It was not anything poignant or as a strategy,'' Carroll said. ``He's determined. He played beautifully today. We need him to keep playing well.''
The motivation meeting actually took place in training camp, when we wrote the coaches were frustrated with Griffen's attitude.
Who would you rather bet on being the strongest commitment to USC: Shaquelle Evans or Randall Carroll?
Arizona State's offense has gained just 212 yards (Georgia) and 236 (Cal) in its past two games.