ASU Head Coach Dirk Koetter
"We did some really good things for three quarters. We just didn't finish as well as we would have liked to in the fourth quarter. I think our defense in the fourth quarter, when it was still a 10-point game, maybe tried to strip the ball too much and didn't tackle as well as they had the first three quarters. USC ended up going to an eight-man front forcing us to throw it and it kind of took away our running game we had in the first half. For three quarters I really liked what we saw from our team. We competed hard, we cut out the turnovers, we did better on third down and in the red zone. We're not where we need to be yet, but we're much closer."
"We had some players playing much better. Derek Hagan played huge on offense today. Andrew (Walter) was back to his old self today."
On running a no-huddle offense
"That's something the players came to me with. The offensive players came to me and wanted to run a no-huddle. I was somewhat reluctant at first, but as the week went on it became clear that that was the way we should go. It did help us at times and there are some things about it that limits you."
"USC mixes defenses better than any team we've played. When you play USC, you have to be ready for zone blitz, you have to be ready for man free coverage and you have to be ready for two-deep zone on every single down. Our passing game had to be a little more simplistic but your routes had to have a winner built in for each coverage. We did hit some inside routes against their two-deep zone and that's one of the weaknesses of that (zone)."
"Right before we came out for the second half, Loren Wade came in and gave us a spark. Mike Williams did a good job in his role as a third down back as well."
"I know sometimes it doesn't appear like it to people on the outside, but our football team is getting better. We went through two very rough weeks against Iowa and Oregon State, but we have a lot of individual players getting better in practice."
ASU's Andrew Walter
"I don't know what the difference between the first and second half was today. In the first half I felt that the offense was rolling. Then in the second half we didn't convert on third down, and maybe that is the reason why we slumped off."
"I thought the offense played great today. For the first time all year I felt the offense clicking, it felt good to have the team in rhythm against the best team in the Pac-10. Even though we didn't get those third downs, we have to take the positives from this game to next week."
"The receivers played well today. Terry Richardson stepped up on some big third downs. Derek Hagan also made a lot of plays tonight. I was looking for Hagan as much as I could because he was stepping up and having a great day."
"In the second half USC started to drop a safety back. They also blitzed more to stop the run, which really affected the passing game. Give them credit for the adjustments they made."
"We didn't get tired in the game at all. We just couldn't finish drives. It seemed every time we got the ball we would march down field, but we just couldn't finish any of those drives off. I don't know what the problem is but we need to fix it."
ASU's Derek Hagan
"The game was a big loss, it really hurts. We just have to come back next week and play hard. The fatigue wasn't a factor for us at all. We practice and play hard every week."
"After watching film from the California game, we played well against USC. It helped serve as a blueprint of what do to against them. We made so many plays today and had a lot of people step up. The running backs, offensive line, and receivers all played great today."
"USC played a great game. We had control when we went up 17-10. Then USC answered and tied the game up at 17-17. After USC came back and tied it up, the game was over after that."
"The Pac-10 is the hardest conference around. Day in and day out teams come to play and you have to be ready. We have to go back and practice hard and be ready next week."
ASU's Skyler Fulton
"There wasn't a snowball affect with the momentum. We just didn't have anyone step up and make the big play. We needed to answer after they scored a TD and tied the game up, but we didn't do that. We need to be more consistent on third down conversions, that really hurt us today."
"We ran a screen play on the touchdown catch. The offensive line did a great blocking in front, I caught the ball and gave the defensive player a stiff arm and pulled him into the end zone."
"Every day we go into practice and play hard. Today we showed that we work on making people miss and breaking tackles for yards after the catch. Terry Richardson stepped up big tonight with some plays and I don't even know how many yards Hagan ended up with. Every week a different guy steps up. Today it was Rich and Hagan, earlier in the year it was Moey Mutz and I. We just need to come out and play 60 consistent minutes of football. USC is just a solid team, they played a great game."
"The game was going good until after the 1st drive. It seemed like we were going three and out on every drive. We were dropping balls, making penalties, something just always went wrong. The defense played great but we can't go three and out every time."
USC vs. Kansas State players
"USC has a lot of athletes. KSU was a little bigger on the front line, but USC's front four did a great job in today's game. We just didn't step up and make the plays we needed to make."
ASU's Hakim Hill
On the players in the second half:
"It was hot out there and we had a couple of people get cramps. Our center Drew Hodgdon got nicked up and that hurts. The center is the captain of the offensive line. When he's gone, that's tough. He did come back though. I am healthy. I had to go in at halftime to get fluids because I was cramping, but it was very hot."
On the running game:
"We were running the ball well early and that's what we need to do. That helps set up our offense."
On playing a four-quarter game:
"For three, quarters we played hard, we played ASU football. But it's not a three-quarter game. We need to play for all four quarters. I'm not sure why we are not playing for four quarters, but it's something we have to do. We played excellent football for three quarters, we just have to finish the game."
On USC's second half:
"In the first half we were running well and that helped us throw well. In the second half they started to blitz more to try and disrupt us."
On Derek Hagan:
"I think that Derek Hagan had a great game. He played excellently today and really helped our offense move."
On getting stopped on 3rd-and-1 and 4th-and-1:
"I believe in everyone on this team. If we get stuffed, we'll punt the ball and come back out next time. That's the way we play, but time just ran out today."
ASU's Jamar Williams
"We didn't want to win the game enough. As a team we didn't put in enough. USC was hungry and showed it. I give a lot of credit to USC."
"We want to go out and play hard every game and see how it goes from there. We need to put this loss behind us and learn from our mistakes. We would like seven straight wins from here on out."
"USC is a great team. A team really needs to come out strong and take it to them. The desire at games needs to be present and it was like a light switch that flickered on and off throughout the game today. We couldn't keep giving up big plays to have a successful turnout. When the score was 17-10 and USC scored two quick touchdowns, they went on from there. We made a couple of mistakes that hurt our game."
ASU's Riccardo Stewart
"We had USC right where we wanted them after the second quarter. But there was not one play that broke our back; there were several plays that hurt ASU. We were unable to make big plays in the offense and that hurt our team as well. It was a tough loss, it hurt."
"We missed a tackle here and there, the heat did not matter. The heat probably made more of a difference to USC, we are used to this heat. USC is a great team and we just need to pick it up and win for ourselves. We are focusing on Oregon next week."
USC Head Coach Pete Carroll
"This was one of my favorite games since I've been here, under the circumstances of losing last week and having a young team, not knowing how they're going to respond. It was a really difficult first half with all the backed up field positions. We didn't make a critical mistake, we held on the to the ball and lofted it out there for a long drive one time, it gave us a chance to be in the game, taking advantage of the field goal at the end of the first half, all of that really was meaningful in this game.
"To come out in the third quarter, ASU came out and scored a quick touchdown, everything could have gone the wrong way. I'm glad that it didn't and that we hung in there. The second half was the kind of football that we are capable of playing. That's the kind of ball that we got used to last year and that we love to see. Running the clock out at the end of the game, with different guys carrying it and pounding it away, was really something that we love to see.
"I was really proud of Matt Linehart, I thought that it was a fantastic effort to come back when he easily could have not finished that game. The coaches challenged him a little bit, he said that he was playing. He never wavered on the fact that he was going to play, he just didn't look like he was going to play."
On ASU's offense
"They did some good things early on. They tried some no huddle, it really didn't affect us, but it did change the rhythm a little bit. Our conditioning was fine, it didn't bother us a bit to be going faster, and I'm sure they were hoping that it would because it was hot. But credit to them, they did some real nice things and then we finally got squared away and made some adjustments at the half. I felt better about our running game in the second half. We took charge of that and it really changed the game for us."
USC's Matt Leinart
"I just wanted to tough it out. It was bothering me a lot, but we taped up my knee and my ankle and went back out there. We were awesome in the second half offensively and defensively. This is a good win for us."
On possible return from injury:
"No, I didn't. It started getting better, but my ankle still hurt. I toughed it out, I knew my team needed me, so I just went out there and got the job done. They said it was up to me, if I could go, I could go. I was running on it a little bit and limping, but sometimes you just have to block out the pain and go. "
"We didn't really change too much, I think for myself, I was playing a little smarter. I was hitting my check downs, just the little stuff. We're a second half team, we always have been and we always will be. The defense answered the call, the offense answered the call and (running back) LenDale White ram the ball awesome. The O-line was blocking, it was real good to see that in the second half."
On the running game
"People have been saying that we don't have a running game, but I don't think that. We started to click, and maybe this is the game that sets the tone for the rest of the season."
On ASU's secondary
"They're real aggressive on the run. We had opportunities, and we got it. Second half we missed a couple, but we knew they were aggressive, flying up to the line on the run."
USC's Mike Patterson
On ASU's offense
"They run the ball real hard, it was tough for me playing double teams all day. It was hard-nosed football up front, that's all it was. We just went out there and kept on coming."
"Hakim Hill was big in the first half, and we had to attack the running game in the second half. We were able to stop them, and play good D-line technique, good pressure on the receivers."
USC's LenDale White
"We always kknow that there's a chance when you get in the game, that you may only get the ball once or twice. But its not that the coaches don't want you to get the ball, its just how it works sometimes. When you get in, you have got to prove that you're ready. Once you've proved that, they'll probably give you the rock a lot more.
"That's the way you establish an attitude about the running game. The more you pound on them, the more you will wear them down before they wear on you. I knew coming in that we were going to get a chance to carry the ball as running backs and we had to step up and wear down the defense. Once you've done that, the play action comes into the picture and that's what we wanted to do."
On his 25-yard TD run:
It was a little release play where they clipped in and it worked perfectly. I was running blind for a second there and I bounced into my line. I made a cut to the left and sprinted up the sideline. I looked up at the Jumbotron and I saw a guy chasing me and I thought he was going to get the ball out, so I tucked it in and sprinted.